


Feels Like Flying

by JangJaeYul, luminfics



Series: Round 2017 [7]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Domestic, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Rollerblades & Rollerskates, Skating, Sports, everyone plays sport, luminfics round 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2018-11-09 11:32:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 81,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11103702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JangJaeYul/pseuds/JangJaeYul, https://archiveofourown.org/users/luminfics/pseuds/luminfics
Summary: Luhan is an amateur rollerblader with dreams of making it big. In search of advice, he goes looking for Kim Minseok, a former world champion who mysteriously disappeared from competitions several years ago. What he finds surprises him.





	1. Feels Like Flying

**Author's Note:**

> Username: JangJaeYul  
> Prompt Number: 19  
> Title: Feels Like Flying  
> Rating: NC-17  
> Word Count: 46,558  
> Warnings: Graphic description of past injury, sex  
> Summary: Luhan is an amateur rollerblader with dreams of making it big. In search of advice, he goes looking for Kim Minseok, a former world champion who mysteriously disappeared from competitions several years ago. What he finds surprises him.  
> Author's Notes: Wow this got long. The prompter asked for overconfident!Luhan but it kind of turned into the exact opposite ㅠㅠ Anyway I love these boys and I hope you do too.  
> 

It was almost a perfect line, until Luhan tripped over his feet and came crashing down. There was an exclamation from the other side of the rink; as Luhan slid down the ramp, a pair of skates appeared by his head.

“Dude, that was so close,” Baekhyun said, hand extended to pull Luhan to his feet. “You had it until right at the end.”

“Maybe I should go back to freestyle,” Luhan muttered, brushing the dust off his back. “I can’t grind properly in tri-rockers.”

Baekhyun snorted. “Yeah you can. You just did it like five times. I mean. I assume. I wasn’t watching. But you were definitely fine before that last one. I don’t think it’s the skates, buddy.”

Luhan scowled and turned to take off around the rink again, skating a lap around the very edge of the warehouse before taking another run at the first ramp. He was fine over the first and second - even got a Soyale in on the bar - but at the last ramp he wiped out again and tumbled down in a heap.

“And they call _me_ Bacon!” Baekhyun yelled. “Sizzle sizzle, dude.”

“Shut up!” Luhan pulled off his left skate and flicked a finger across the wheels. Of course they were all fine - the skate wasn’t the problem. He shoved his foot back in and stood as Baekhyun slid to a stop in front of him.

“Maybe you should get yourself a coach,” Baekhyun suggested, and now he seemed sincere rather than mocking. “Someone who can watch you and figure out what you’re doing wrong.”

“Isn’t that what you’re for?” Luhan elbowed Baekhyun in the ribs, then skated over to the far corner and vaulted the railing to get to the hole in the wall.

“I’m not watching you the whole session, man. And even if I did, I can’t tell what it is you’re doing wrong. You need a professional.” Baekhyun sighed and leaned against the wall to take a long drink from his water bottle. “If only you could get Kim Minseok, or someone like that.”

Luhan snorted. “Isn’t he dead?”

“What?” Baekhyun’s head jolted up off the wall. “No way! He’s not, is he?”

“I swear he died like three years ago.”

“I thought he just retired!”

“I dunno man, all I know is I only ever saw him skate once. He was the reigning champ when I started skating, and then he just suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. Pretty sure he died.”

Baekhyun capped his water bottle and turned to lean over the counter. “Hey, Xing! Settle something for us.”

Yixing scooted back from his desk and swivelled on his office chair. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Kim Minseok,” Baekhyun said. “Dead, or retired?”

“Retired,” Yixing said. “Who told you he was dead?”

Baekhyun indicated Luhan, who held up a defensive hand.

“Hey, that’s just what I heard. He just vanished, didn’t even come watch the competitions anymore. Bro, can I grab a soda?”

Yixing opened the fridge and slid a can of cola across the counter towards Luhan, who dropped a handful of coins beside the register.

“Nah, he’s still around,” Yixing said. “He just didn’t come back to skating after his accident, that’s all. Why? What’s got you two interested in ancient history all of a sudden?”

“Luhan needs a coach.”

Yixing snorted. “And you thought of Minseok? Keep dreaming.”

“He’s the best there’s ever been,” Baekhyun said. “If anyone can get Luhan to land a 1080 rocket, it’s Kim Minseok.”

Yixing raised his eyebrows as he scooped Luhan’s money off the counter and dropped it into the till. “Forget about it, Baek. Minseok quit for a reason. He’s not coming out of retirement for any punk-ass flatlander.”

Luhan bristled. “I’m not a flatlander!”

“Land a 900 mistiest and tell me that again.”

Luhan scowled and popped the tab of his cola. While he was occupied taking an aggressive sip, Baekhyun leaned even further over the counter towards Yixing.

“So wait, do you know Minseok? Like, personally?”

“Yeah, duh.” Yixing picked up his phone to change the music. “We were mates long before he ever went pro. Goddamit, Baekhyun, what’s your bloody boyfriend doing now?”

Yixing dropped his phone on the shelf and yanked the office door open. A second later he was over the railing and whizzing across the rink with Baekhyun on his heels to break up Chanyeol’s latest tussle with Kris.

Luhan, left alone in the corner, hesitated for a conscience-wrangling second before leaning over the counter to grab Yixing’s phone. He tapped the screen to wake it up before it locked itself again, then navigated to the home screen and opened the contact list. He was hoping for a chat contact, or a phone number he could call, but when he found the entry labelled “Minseok” there was something even better - an address. Luhan read over it, repeating it to himself a couple of times, then hit the home key and locked the phone, dropping it back on the shelf just as Yixing returned.

“I swear to god, Kris, you start one more fight and I’m banning you.” He jumped over the railing and slid back into the office.

“Hey, we’re just playing around,” Kris said, giving Luhan a friendly punch in the shoulder by way of greeting.

“Yeah, but you playing around is getting in the way of other skaters. You wanna play fight, do it outside.” Yixing grabbed a bag of cheetos from the snack shelves and tossed it at Kris, then held out a hand for his coins. “How you doing there, Luhan?”

“Good, good.” Luhan ducked his head to hide the guilty colour in his cheeks as he typed the address into a note on his phone. This was definitely a Bad Idea and would almost certainly get him in a lot of trouble, but Luhan couldn’t shake the feeling that it was worth a shot. At the very least he needed to try. And who knows, maybe he’d be able to convince Kim Minseok to come back to skating. After all, they’d all had their share of accidents. Luhan remembered only too well his own broken wrist. Kris had fractured his ankle once and was out for a good six months, and Baekhyun’s dislocated knees were the stuff of legends. Luhan figured if Minseok had been out of the game for three years, he’d had plenty of time to rest and recover. Maybe all he needed was a bit of encouragement.

-

The house was bigger than he expected, fancier and almost intimidatingly well-kept. Maybe Kim Minseok hadn’t retired because of an injury, Luhan thought. Maybe he’d retired because he married some nice rich girl and moved to this disgustingly moneyed suburb with their well-trained dog and twins-on-the-way. Set back from the road, with a cobbled driveway and manicured hedges along the front, the mere sight of the place was nearly enough to turn Luhan on his heel and send him pedalling in the other direction. Luhan suddenly imagined Minseok’s English butler answering the door, taking one look at this dirty skater kid, and sending him packing. Well, he decided, better to strike out than give up. He steeled himself and wheeled his bike up to the front door.

The doorbell was answered with a resounding buzz, then the crackle of speakers.

_“Hello?”_

The butler wasn’t English. This, of all things, threw Luhan.

“Uh, yeah, hi. I'm looking for Kim Minseok?”

_“Yeah, dude, what can I do for you?”_

Oh fuck. It wasn’t a butler at all. It was Kim Minseok himself, answering his own damn intercom, and Luhan realised he was halfway through the most important conversation of his life without even knowing it had begun.

“Oh, shit. I mean, I mean-” Luhan felt the blush spreading through his cheeks and was suddenly very glad they were having this conversation through a speaker. “Um, hi, my name's Luhan, I'm a skater- uh, I know it's super weird that I came to see you, but I really need some help, and I know you're retired and all but I was just really hoping maybe you might be able to help me, cause I'm gonna enter the _East Xtreme_ championship but I know talent isn't enough to win and I was hoping you could maybe teach me some of your tricks…”

Luhan trailed off and realised the echo of the intercom had cut to silence. Minseok had hung up on him. Luhan just stared at it for a moment, trying not to let his heart break, and was just about to turn and wheel his bike back down the driveway when there was the sound of a deadbolt being drawn back. A second later, the door swung open.

“And how do you propose I do that?”

Luhan blinked at the man behind the door. Kim Minseok was shorter than expected, positively tiny - and then Luhan realised he was sitting. Minseok's left hand was on the door, right hand on his wheelchair, and for a split second Luhan thought he'd had a more recent injury than the one that took him out of the rink. Then he looked down at the chair and saw the left shoe, left knee, left leg of Minseok's jeans, and then the right, falling flat at mid-thigh. No knee. No shoe. 

No leg.

Luhan began to realise that he had made a horrible mistake.

“Oh, shit.” Luhan smacked a hand over his mouth. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t- I swear I wouldn’t have-”

“I love this part.” Minseok, incredibly, was smirking up at him, one eyebrow raised. “What’s wrong, dude? Not what you expected?”

“Fuck.” Luhan struggled for better vocabulary. “I’m really sorry man, I didn’t realise. I’ll just go-”

“Nah, bro.” Minseok let go of the door and swivelled his chair around to face the hallway. “I’m just having a cup of coffee. Why don’t you come on in and tell me how you found my house?”

Luhan gaped after him. After a moment Minseok, now halfway down the hall, glanced back over his shoulder.

“Come on! You can leave your bike there, no-one’s gonna steal it. Kick the door shut behind you.”

Luhan leaned his bike against the wall and tiptoed inside, pushing the door shut behind him as quietly as he could. Minseok had disappeared into the room at the other end of the hall - Luhan could see the edge of his wheelchair through the doorway, but Minseok no longer seemed to be in it. Carefully Luhan crept down the hall and peered around the door.

“I love that you were sneaky enough to get my address, pushy enough to actually show up at my house, and _now_ you’re shy,” Minseok said, not looking over his shoulder where he stood at the counter. He reached out, one hand on the bench to keep his balance, and flicked on the coffee grinder next to him. Over the immediate racket, he called, “take a seat!”

The only available seat seemed to be a barstool on the other side of the counter, around the corner from where Minseok stood. Luhan clambered up onto it and folded his hands in his lap.

“Cappuccino okay?” Minseok asked as the grinder whirred into silence.

“Uh, sure.”

“Chill.” Minseok slid the portafilter back into the machine and put a cup under the spout, then turned and hopped over to the fridge, from which he retrieved a bottle of milk.

“So tell me, dude. How’d you find me? I don’t recognise you from competitions back in the day, which means you probably never came here for a party. So how’d you figure out where I live?”

Luhan bit his lip and tried to suppress the blush in his cheeks. He should have come up with an answer for this ahead of time - he didn’t want to outright tell Minseok that he stole his address from Yixing’s phone, nor did he want to suggest that Yixing had willingly given it to him.

“I… got it from a friend,” he said finally. “I’m really sorry, man, I shouldn’t have-”

“Cool,” Minseok interrupted him. “So we’ve got a friend in common, that’s pretty chill.” He began steaming the milk in a small metal jug, calling over the screech of the wand. “How long have you been skating for?”

“About four years,” Luhan called back.

“Nice.” Minseok flicked the machine off and took the cup from under the spout. “That’s about as long as I’ve _not_ been skating. A little longer. Around three years, for me. There you go, man, try that.” He put the cup down on the counter in front of Luhan and turned to hop his way back to his wheelchair.

Luhan took a polite sip, then another, this one bigger, as he realised Minseok’s coffee was actually pretty good.

“Good?”

“Uh. yeah.” Luhan cleared his throat. “Thanks.”

“No worries.” Minseok released the brakes on his chair and wheeled himself over to the dining table behind Luhan in the non-kitchen half of the room. Luhan turned around on the barstool to face him, and for a second there was quiet as Minseok picked up his own cup from the table and drank.

“So.” Minseok swivelled himself sideways to the table, cup in hand as he looked Luhan up and down. “You think you’re championship material, huh?”

Luhan swallowed. Confidence had gotten him this far, but now he was sitting here, looking glory incarnate in the face, and all the bravado was gone.

“I hope so,” he said. “I mean, I know I’m good - I’ve always been good - but this is a bigger competition than I’ve ever been in, and I just can’t get some of my stuff to work. I’ve been trying to get some better vert spins into my line, but I keep falling on my head.”

“Okay, so you’re _almost_ championship material.” Minseok put his cup down and leaned forward, hands clasped around his knee. “You know it’s not about how hard your tricks are, right? You can place with the easiest moves as long as you do them well.”

“I know,” Luhan said, “but there’s placing, and then there’s winning.”

“Well, yeah.” Minseok picked up his cup again and took a sip, eyebrows raised over the rim. “You wanna win, you gotta be able to do something a bit harder than a misty flip.”

Luhan just nodded.

“You got any videos, man?” Minseok said. “On YouTube, or whatever? I’d love to see what you’ve got.”

“Uh, yeah.” Luhan fished his phone out of his pocket. “Here.” He flipped through videos until he found last week’s session at the park with Baekhyun and Chanyeol, then slid down off the barstool and passed the phone to Minseok.

Minseok watched the whole video in silence, an agonising three minutes while Luhan chewed his thumbnail and scrutinised Minseok’s face for any flicker of approval or dislike. When the video ended and Minseok’s face was still completely impassive, Luhan wanted to sink into the ground. No reaction at all? Minseok must have been totally bored the whole time.

Then, Minseok gave a little shrug of his mouth, a tiny nod of approval.

“That’s pretty good, bro.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Minseok handed the phone back. “You’ve got some nice moves. Who’s the other dude?”

“Oh! That’s my friend Baekhyun. His boyfriend’s the one filming. He’s pretty good too, right?”

“Yeah, for sure,” Minseok nodded. “Not as good as you, though.”

“What?” Luhan’s jaw dropped.

“He’s got some solid stuff, but he’s not as adventurous as you are. Don’t tell him I said that, I don’t wanna crush his dreams or anything.”

“No, for sure. Oh man. Thank you so much.” Luhan put his phone down on the counter and grabbed his coffee to take a giddy mouthful. _Nice moves. Pretty good._ Praise from Kim Minseok. Holy shit.

“I call it how I see it, my friend.” Minseok leaned back in his chair and slotted his hands behind his head. “You’ve got good stuff there, keep at it.”

“Fuck. Thank you so much, man, you have no idea-”

“I have a pretty good idea.” Minseok grinned. “Now my question is, what are you hoping for from me?”

Luhan’s stomach dropped. Of course they were gonna come back to this.

“Um. Well.” Luhan cleared his throat and tried again. “I mean, I was originally hoping I could ask you to be my coach. But, uh, seeing as you’re- I mean, you don’t seem like you’re still interested in- in- anything like that, so, uh, I won’t ask you. For that. Um.”

“Okay, bro. Suits me.” Minseok smirked and drained the last of his coffee. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still super into skating, but I also really really like being alone in this stupid big house and not going outside. I haven’t been to a rink since this happened.” He pointed down at the absence of his right leg.

“That’s why you retired?” Luhan couldn’t help but pry. “I mean, they just said you had an accident and didn’t come back afterwards, I didn’t realise-”

“You thought it was a skating accident?” Minseok laughed. “Nah, bro, I got wiped out on my bike by some cunt at an intersection. Fucking crushed, kevlar and all. Apparently it was a choice between a fucktonne of reconstructive surgery and a lifetime of pain, or this. So I ended up with Shorty-” a tap of his right thigh “- and the skates ended up in the back of the closet.”

“Wow.” Luhan struggled for a moment, searching for words that weren’t cheap or cliche. “I’m sorry,” he said finally. “That’s fucking rough.”

“Ah.” Minseok waved a dismissive hand. “It’s not that bad. I’m most pissed off about the tattoos, you know? I had about two thousand bucks of artwork on that leg, and now it’s all over the pavement at Church and Main. Silver lining, though, at least it took the awful scratcher I got when I was sixteen.”

Luhan gave a surprised laugh and received a sly grin in return.

“How are you so positive, man?” he said. “I was fucking miserable when I broke my wrist and couldn’t skate, and that was only a couple weeks.”

“Oh, brother, are we getting philosophical here?” Minseok rolled his eyes. “Shit happens, man, I’m not gonna be depressed and bitter the rest of my life just because I can’t skate anymore. I got better shit to do. And I bet I can still run faster on crutches than you can on your chicken legs. Seriously, dude, eat some protein.”

Luhan laughed again, and this time Minseok laughed with him. Reaching up to adjust his beanie on his head, he gave Luhan a wink.

“Okay, I don’t wanna be rude, but I got shit to do today so I gotta kick you out now.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Luhan scrambled down off the barstool. “Thanks, man. For the coffee, and for- uh-”

“No sweat.” Minseok held out his hand for Luhan to shake. “Thanks for stopping by, creepy as it is that you have my address. Good luck with the championship. What was your name again?”

“Oh! Luhan. My name’s Luhan.”

“Nice to meet you, Luhan. Good luck. I’ll be keeping an eye out for you.”

“Thanks. Seriously, thank you so much.” Luhan followed Minseok down the hallway to the front door.

“Don’t mention it. Take care, buddy.” Minseok opened the door for him and waited while Luhan picked up his bike and wheeled it down the driveway. When Luhan reached the street and looked over his shoulder, Minseok was leaning forward in his chair to pick a stray leaf off the low hedge beside the doorstep. Luhan paused, watched him for a second, then smiled and swung a leg over his bike to pedal in the direction of downtown.

-

It took him fifteen tries, but Luhan finally managed to land without completely wiping out. With a whoop and both fists in the air, he took off around the rink for a victory lap.

“Nice one!” Yixing yelled from the office. “You’re officially not a flatlander anymore.”

“Damn fucking right!” Luhan took another run at the ramp and flipped up, feet above his head as he spun. Absorbed in the triumph of the moment, he misjudged the landing and came down toes-first, flipping forward and sliding down the ramp on his face.

“I take it back,” Yixing called. “Still a flatlander.”

“Ahh,” another voice added, “this is a familiar sight.”

Luhan picked himself up off the floor and saw Baekhyun gliding across the rink towards him.

“Fuck off,” he said, grabbing Baekhyun’s hand and clapping him on the back, “I just had it, you should have seen me like two minutes ago.”

“Yeah, sure.” Baekhyun smacked his shoulder as they parted. “Have you been here all day?”

“Yeah, mostly.” Luhan twisted his arm around and craned his neck to check how badly the ramp had scraped his elbow pad. “Why?”

“Explains why you haven’t been answering your phone. I called you like five times.”

“What?” Luhan frowned. “No you didn’t, I-” he stopped, hand in his pocket. No phone. “Okay, where the fuck-?” He turned around, scanning the ground, but it didn’t look like he’d dropped it in the rink. Worried now, he skated over to the side and vaulted the railing to grab his duffel bag from the bleachers. Not in there, either - just his water bottle and jacket, with empty pockets.

“What have you lost?” Yixing said, leaning out over the counter.

“Have you seen my phone?” Luhan crouched down to look under the seats. “I swear it was in my pocket.”

Yixing shook his head. “When did you last have it?”

“I don’t know, like earlier today? Fuck, man, that phone’s my life, it’s got all my music on it, all my videos…” Luhan trailed off, horror rising through his cheeks as he realised where he’d last seen his phone.

“Try retracing your steps,” Baekhyun offered. “Where were you before you came to the rink?”

“Uh.” _Fuck, fuck, fuck._ He’d left it on the kitchen counter at Minseok’s house. “Uh, I think I know where it is. It’s, uh, at a- a- friend’s house.” _Fuuuck._

How the fuck was he gonna get it back now? The only thing more awkward than randomly stalking a celebrity and turning up at their house was forgetting your shit there and having to go back.

“Oh, awesome.” Baekhyun slapped him on the back. “You can just go back and get it then. Problem solved.”

No, not _problem solved_ , Luhan thought. Problem worse. Biggest problem of his life happening right now.

If the phone had been sitting on Minseok’s kitchen counter all day and he hadn’t answered it any of the times that Baekhyun had called, then he probably wasn’t going to answer it now. That meant the only way to get in touch with him was to call Minseok’s own phone. Luhan briefly imagined asking Yixing for his phone, pretending he was calling himself and instead calling Minseok. He imagined the inevitable moment when Yixing saw a call to Minseok in his dial history. He imagined Minseok realising that Luhan had gotten his address from Yixing.

Luhan shook that entire train of thought out of his head. There was only one solution. He would have to go back to Minseok’s house.

-

Luhan dragged his old alarm clock out of retirement and got up early the next morning to bike the hour to Minseok’s house. By the time he rang the doorbell he was already tired, and beyond caring whether Minseok was about to get pissed off at him for disturbing him again.

_“Yo!”_

“Uh-” Luhan blinked at the intercom. “Hi, Minseok? It’s Luhan again - from yesterday. I-”

_“Yeah, come on in, buddy.”_

“- just came for… my… phone.” Luhan trailed off into silence as the whine of the intercom gave way to a loud buzz and then a clunk from the door. Luhan, after a second of hesitation, tested the handle and found it unlocked. Creeping into the hallway, he pushed the door shut behind him.

“In here!”

Luhan followed the shout down the hall. Stepping into the kitchen, he turned and saw Minseok on the far side of the living area, hanging from a bar in the corner.

“Hey, man! Hit the red button.”

“Wha...t?”

Minseok swung his leg up, pointing his foot at the kitchen counter. “The coffee machine. Red button. Press it.” He let his leg drop and pulled himself up towards the bar. This, Luhan realised, was Minseok’s gym - a triangular frame with a bench either side and a chin-up bar across the middle.

“Uh-” Luhan looked at the coffee machine, then cautiously pushed the centre button. The machine hummed to life, spitting coffee into the cup sitting under the spout. “Okay, uh, done. Um, sorry, I left my phone here by mistake yesterday.”

“I noticed.” Minseok flashed a grin. “Baekhyun and ‘Galaxy’ were blowing it up all afternoon.”

“Oh.” Luhan scratched a hand across the back of his head. “Well, I just came to get it, so-”

“Yeah, I know. But now that you’re here you might as well, right?”

Luhan blinked, confused, then followed Minseok’s gaze as the coffee machine gave a cheerful ping. Suddenly, it twigged. The clean cup, the shot already tamped and loaded - Minseok had been expecting him. The coffee had just been awaiting his arrival.

“Oh. Oh!” Luhan blushed, flustered and embarrassed.

“I’ll do some milk for you,” Minseok said, dropping from the bar and holding onto the side rail for balance. “Just gimme a sec.”

“Oh, no!” Luhan grabbed the cup out from under the spout. “You don’t have to, it’s good like this.”

Minseok looked up at him, one smirking eyebrow raised. “You sure?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Luhan cradled the cup between his hands. “I like espresso.”

“Awesome. In that case…” Minseok crouched, balanced precariously with one hand on the frame of his gym, to pick up a ball from the basket in the corner. “Don’t mind me. I gotta do all this shit every day.”

He shuffled over to the wall and leaned there, the ball sandwiched between his hip and the wall. As Luhan watched, he began to do careful squats, the tied-off leg of his sweatpants swinging back with every bend of his knee.

Luhan took a careful sip of his coffee. There was a weird kind of fascination in watching Minseok work out. The patchwork of tattoos down his arms, the stud through his lip, his general air of complete indifference - they all seemed totally at odds with this kind of concentration. Minseok looked down at his knee like its path over his foot was of the utmost importance. Luhan wondered what that gaze might feel like directed at him.

After about twenty squats, Minseok straightened up and lobbed the ball back towards its basket. He gave himself a high-five as it it went neatly in, then hopped back towards his wheelchair, parked beside the gym frame.

“If I’ve only got three they might as well be strong, right?” he said, lowering himself into the chair and releasing the brakes.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Minseok wheeled himself around the counter to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” he said, turning himself carefully around with one hand to look at Luhan.

“Huh?”

“I will coach you.”

Luhan practically felt the clunk of his jaw hitting the floor.

“ _What?_ ”

“My conditions. One: you do not tell anyone I am coaching you.”

Luhan nodded vigorously. “Uh, yeah. Absolutely.”

“And two: we only practise alone. Probably at night. In a location of my choosing.”

“Um. Sure.”

“I like my privacy,” Minseok said. “And more than my privacy, I really like my legacy. As far as anybody knows, I just vanished off the face of the earth. I’d like to keep it that way. I went out on top, and as long as I never come back, that’s where I’ll stay. None of this shit getting in the way.” He gave Shorty a flick, then set his glass down by the sink and came back around the counter. “Do we have a deal?”

“Yeah. Deal.” Luhan shook Minseok’s offered hand and felt his heart give an excited little squeeze. Kim Minseok. _Kim Fucking Minseok_. Coaching him. Holy crap.

-

Luhan was so excited to begin practising that evening that he pedalled like a madman all the way from the rink and ended up arriving at Minseok’s house half an hour early. He rang the doorbell and stepped back, trying to get his breath under control as he waited for Minseok to answer.

_“Lu! C’mon in, I’m in the kitchen.”_

The door buzzed and Luhan pushed it open.

“You’re early!” Minseok called from the other end of the hall.

“Am I?” Luhan pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. “Oh, shit. Sorry!”

“No problem, dude. Come join me.”

Luhan stepped into the kitchen and saw Minseok perched on one of the barstools, dinner in front of him.

“Oh, man,” Luhan said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you-”

“Have you eaten?” Minseok cut him off.

“I- No.”

“Then grab a plate.” Minseok nodded toward the cupboards. “Second to the left of the fridge. Rice in the cooker, stew on the stove.”

Luhan shifted from foot to foot. “I don’t wanna take your food, man-”

“What, you think I’m a bad cook?” Minseok grinned into his fork. “Eat, bro. I’m gonna be pushing you hard tonight, an empty stomach’s not gonna help you.”

Luhan opened the cupboard to take a plate. He served himself the smallest helping he thought Minseok would let him get away with, then joined him at the counter.

“No wonder you’ve got chicken legs, if that’s all you eat,” Minseok commented.

“I’m not that hungry,” Luhan said.

“You will be.” Minseok smirked sideways at him. 

Luhan blushed and ducked his head on the pretense of shovelling rice into his mouth. Minseok chuckled and went back to his own plate.

“So what have you been up to today?” Minseok asked, after an interlude of silence.

“Uh. Just at the rink?”

“Yeah?” Minseok glanced at him. “You didn’t have work or anything?”

Luhan shook his head. “No. I… don’t. At the moment.”

“Just like me!” Minseok gave a twisted little smile.

“I think you’ve got a bit more of an excuse than I have,” Luhan said.

Minseok snorted, then nodded. “Fair point. There’s not a lot I can do on one leg.”

Luhan glanced down at Minseok’s hand, resting on Shorty. “You don’t have a prosthesis or anything?”

“Nah.” Minseok shook his head. “I mean, I do. They fitted me for a basic prosthetic, back in the day. But I hated it. It hurt, it rubbed me raw, and the surgery to make it work would have just been more time and hassle and pain. I didn’t want to go through all that bullshit again.”

Luhan grimaced. “That sucks.”

“Nah,” Minseok waved a hand. “Wheels are cooler anyway. And I’m pretty good on crutches, so it’s not like I’m totally immobile. It’s just kinda hard to find something interesting to do when all you’ve ever known is sport, you know?”

“I can imagine.”

Minseok scooped the last forkful of rice into his mouth and slid off the barstool. “Okay, you done?” He took the empty plates and hopped with them to the sink. “I’m gonna do the dishes later. Let’s go.”

He led the way down the hallway to the last door, right near the entrance. Pushing it open, he flipped a switch and let himself roll down the ramp into what, as the lights came on, Luhan realised was a garage.

“You see my baby?” Minseok called, already on the other side of the black van nearest the door.

“Huh?”

Luhan followed him around the van, and saw it. Bright red, sleek and polished with shining chrome and spotless tyres, was a bike. Minseok was sitting next to it, not quite close enough to touch, just looking as if caressing it with his eyes.

“Wow,” Luhan breathed.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Minseok said. “A friend of mine rebuilt her for me after the accident. I’ll never be able to ride her again, but I can’t bear to sell her, so she’s just sitting here. It’s a shame, huh?”

Luhan just nodded. The motorcycle was beautiful, much bigger than any bike Luhan had ever ridden, and clearly hadn’t been touched in a long time. The tyres were unmarked - Luhan suspected she had been rebuilt in this very garage and hadn’t left it since.

Looking at the sheer size of her, Luhan shivered. The bike was so big, and Minseok was so small; Luhan could imagine how something of that size falling on a person could easily take off a leg or more. An image flashed into his mind of Minseok, pinned beneath that bike, skidding across the road with a trail of sparks and blood behind him. Luhan shook himself to clear that thought.

“You coming?”

Luhan turned around. Minseok was peering expectantly at him over the hood of the van.

“Oh! Yep, sorry.” Luhan jogged over to the passenger door and climbed in. As Minseok settled himself behind the wheel, Luhan gave him an appraising look.

“You drive?”

“Of course I drive.” Minseok picked up a remote from the console and clicked it, and the door in front of them began to wind up. “Took ages to get used to using my left foot, though.” He rolled forward out of the garage and stopped on the driveway to let the door close behind them. “You know this is the only way I can get out of my house now?”

Luhan looked at him sideways until he elaborated.

“The front door has a doorstep.”

“… Oh!” Luhan slapped a palm to his forehead. “Oh my god, of course it does!”

“One small step for man, one giant obstacle for a wheelchair.”

“Fuck.”

“That’s why I had the ramp put in. The front doorstep is concrete, but the garage was wood so it was pretty easy to take it out and put a board in there.”

“So you haven’t been out the front door in three years?”

“No, I have.” Minseok turned onto the highway and began heading in the direction of downtown. “Just not in my chair. I mean, it’s fine if I’m on crutches. And like, the two times I used the leg.”

“Wow. Man.” Luhan shook his head in amazement. All these little things that he would never have considered would be an obstacle to a person in a wheelchair.

“So where are we headed?” he asked after a moment.

“A little rink just on the edge of town,” Minseok said. “I know the guy who runs it, he’ll make sure we have privacy. I mean, they’ll be closed anyway by now, so there shouldn’t be anyone else there, but just in case.”

Luhan nodded and went back to looking out the window.

“Question.”

“Answer,” Minseok said.

“Why do you use a wheelchair? I mean, your other leg is fine, right? Wouldn’t it be easier to use crutches?”

Minseok darted a glance at him before returning his eyes to the road.

“It’s not that I don’t like using my leg,” he said. “It’s that I do like using my hands.”

“… Huh?”

“When I use crutches, I’ve effectively got three legs and no hands. It’s hell. I’m more mobile, yes, but at the cost of a complete lack of independence.”

Luhan frowned, trying to make sense of that.

“I would think crutches would be more independent,” he said.

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Minseok shot him a wry smile. “But have you ever tried carrying a cup of coffee on them?”

Luhan blinked, then realised. “ _Ohhh!_ Crap. I didn’t think of it like that.”

“Neither did I, until the first time I tried to go out on my own.”

Luhan snorted, and Minseok chuckled, and then they were both laughing.

“So anyway,” Minseok grinned, “that’s why I prefer wheels. I’m pretty good at holding stuff between my thighs. And I’m like a human shopping cart when I go out with my friends - they just pile stuff on me and push.”

“Nice.” Luhan looked over and caught Minseok’s eye to return his smile. As Minseok winked and turned off the road, Luhan realised they had arrived at the rink. He blinked up at the sign on the front of the warehouse - he’d been expecting some obscure place out in the middle of nowhere, but this was Yixing’s rink. He’d literally just been here a few hours ago.

“Here?”

“Yeah, dude.” Minseok climbed out and threw open the rear door of the van to retrieve his wheelchair. “You know this place?”

“Know it, I-”

“What the _fuck-?_ ”

Luhan turned around and saw Yixing, one hand on the doorframe and the other over his mouth.

“Xingy Xing!” Minseok spun his chair around. “Long time no see, man, how you been?”

Yixing crossed the distance between them in three long strides, then bent down and wrapped his arms around Minseok’s shoulders. Minseok gave him a couple of pats on the back, but Yixing didn’t seem inclined to let go, cheek pressed against the side of Minseok’s head.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he said, giving Minseok a squeeze and straightening up just enough to look him in the eyes.

“I thought I should come see you. See how the rink’s getting on without me.”

“It’s good, buddy, things are good. I’ve got a new generation of grommets, some of them are pretty promising - a couple of them remind me of you in the old days.”

“Awesome.” Minseok craned his neck to look back at Luhan. “Lu, this is Xingy Dingy. He and I-”

“Luhan?” Yixing seemed to notice him for the first time.

“Oh, you know each other?”

“Of course I know Luhan, he skates here every day.”

“Yeah,” Luhan said. “I was here until I came to yours, actually.”

“You- you were at Minseok’s house?”

Yixing seemed thoroughly confused, but Minseok looked like he suddenly understood something.

“Is that how you got my address?” He smirked over his shoulder at Luhan, who felt his face flush bright red.

“What?” Yixing gaped. “No, I didn’t tell him- I just-” he broke off and stared at Luhan. “Is this why you were asking me whether he was still alive?”

Minseok burst out laughing. “Did you think I was _dead?_ ”

Luhan held up his hands. “It was just a rumour!”

Minseok, still laughing, pushed past Yixing to maneuver himself up the ramp and through the door of the warehouse.

“You and I are going to have a serious talk tomorrow,” Yixing hissed at Luhan.

“No you’re not!” Minseok called over his shoulder. “No berating my proteges without permission.”

“Your- your _what?_ ” Yixing hurried into the warehouse after Minseok. “ _What is going on here?_ ”

“Nothing,” Minseok brushed him off with a wave of one hand. “I’m just giving Lulu some friendly advice. A bit of late-night coaching, that’s all.”

“ _Coaching?!_ ” Yixing pressed a hand to his chest and staggered over to the bleachers. “I need to sit down.”

“Alright, Luhan!” Minseok snapped his fingers and pointed over the barrier at the rink. “Skates on, let’s see what you got.”

Luhan nodded and sat down on the bench next to Yixing to pull his shoes off.

“Exactly how the hell did you manage to rope him into this?” Yixing muttered. “Last I remember, we agreed you would forget all about Minseok and _not_ try to find him. What the fuck happened in the intervening forty-eight hours between then and now that has him at my rink, suddenly desperate to be your coach?”

Luhan ducked his head to fasten his skates, the tips of his ears flaming pink. “Um, funny story,” he said. “And you would probably kill me, so I’m not going to tell you. Okay Minseok I’m ready let’s do this!” He launched himself up off the bench and vaulted the barrier away from Yixing’s indignant glare.

It was only when Luhan was halfway up the first ramp that he remembered how important this session was. This was his evaluation, his chance to show Minseok that he was a good skater worthy of his time and attention. This skate was as important as the championship; without one, he wouldn’t have a hope at the other.

He stumbled over the second grind, but recovered enough to rocket over the ramp without falling. At the last ramp, he psyched himself up enough to throw himself into a 900 mistiest, spinning dizzily as his feet flew into the air. Halfway around he looked up and caught a flash of Minseok’s expression - arms folded, eyebrows raised, one finger tracing across his chin.

Luhan hit the ramp hard, tumbling down in a clatter of gloves and kneepads. Sliding to a stop at the bottom, he lay there for a second, panting for breath as he tried to redefine up.

“You okay?”

For a second Luhan did not answer. Then he swallowed, discarded the pieces of his pride, and sat up.

“I’m fine.”

He picked himself up off the floor and skated back over to the side, where Minseok was leaning with both elbows on the railing.

“You want my thoughts?” Minseok said.

Luhan nodded.

“You gotta chill.”

Luhan blinked at him. He’d been expecting a critique of his talent or technique, not… that.

“You’re skating to impress me,” Minseok continued. “You’re never gonna win with that attitude. You gotta skate for the joy of it.”

When Luhan didn’t respond, he raised an eyebrow.

“You do enjoy skating, right?”

“Yeah!” Luhan said. “Of course, I love it, I just - I don’t know how to show that I do.”

“You don’t have to show it,” Minseok said. “That’s the point. Do it for you, not for anyone who might be watching. While you’re still doing it to impress other people, you’ll always be reaching for what you think they want. Fuck what they want. Do what you want. Once you’re skating one hundred percent for yourself, then it will start to show.”

Luhan nodded, then pushed back from the barrier.

“This time, don’t do the moves you think are the most impressive,” Minseok suggested. “Do the shit that’s the most fun.”

He caught Luhan’s eye and grinned. Luhan nodded, grinned back, and turned to take another run at the first ramp.

-

Every night that week, Luhan met Minseok at the rink to practise. He would leave with Baekhyun and Chanyeol when Yixing kicked them out, bike with them to the crossroads where they went right and he went left, then ride around the block and go straight back to the rink.

The upshot of all that skating, though, was that half an hour into their evening practise Luhan would be exhausted, wilting and tripping and wiping out on flips. Finally, Minseok stopped him.

“What are your plans for tomorrow?” he said, passing Luhan his water bottle over the barrier.

“Dunno,” Luhan shrugged. “Probably just gonna be here.”

“No.” Minseok shook his head. “You’re going too hard, man. You’re useless to me if you’re already tired by the time I get my hands on you. You gotta do something other than skate.”

Luhan shrugged. “What else do I do?”

“You come over to my house,” Minseok said. “I’m gonna teach you how to land that 900 mistiest.”

“Really? How?”

“Home videos, my dude. I am the all-time master of shit like that. You wanna learn those flips, you study me. There’s about twenty different videos on YouTube of me _nailing_ it.”

Luhan bit back a grin. Somehow Minseok’s quiet confidence in his own greatness never quite felt like bragging.

“So tomorrow, you come see me. No skating until then. Xingy, he turns up here, you kick him out, alright?”

Yixing shrugged. “Sure. Twenty-four hour ban.”

“Awesome,” Minseok said. “Sleep in tomorrow and come see me after lunch.”

-

This time Luhan managed to arrive at Minseok’s house a full hour early. His ring of the doorbell was answered not by the intercom but by Minseok himself, pulling the door open with an air of great amusement.

“I shouldn’t even be surprised by now,” he said, wheeling himself back to let Luhan in.

“Sorry,” Luhan said. “I can go if you want me to, I know I’m way early-”

“Nah.” Minseok closed the door and turned around, but instead of leading the way to the kitchen he turned the corner and let himself roll down into the garage. “You can keep me company in here.”

Luhan followed him through the door, then stopped dead. Minseok had parked himself next to his bike and was polishing it, hands moving in neat little circles across the metal. Luhan recognised the same kind of perfect concentration Minseok applied to his exercises, the dedicated set of his mouth like this was the most important task in the universe.

Of course - _of course_. Luhan had looked at the bike and thought it hadn’t been touched in years. But if that were the case, it would be covered in dust. Instead it was clean, spotless and sparkling with Minseok’s careful attention.

Luhan wondered how often Minseok did this. He wondered if his heart broke a little each time.

He wondered if it was anything like the way his own heart was breaking now.

“Hey, Minseok-” Luhan cleared his throat and stepped closer.

“Mhm?” Minseok did not look up from the bike.

“Wh- uh-” Luhan didn’t even know how to begin to ask the question.

Minseok did not prod him, just began a new line of careful little circles across the surface of the metal. Perhaps he had forgotten that Luhan was even there.

“Do you ever want to ride her again?” Luhan said finally.

“Every day.” Minseok’s voice was even and matter-of-fact. Devoid of emotion.

Luhan swallowed hard and tried to unstick his voice from his throat.

“I dunno if you- I mean, I can tell that you- I mean.” Luhan took a deep breath and tried again. “If- if you wanted, I could- we could go for a ride.”

Minseok stopped polishing. He closed his eyes and seemed to just breathe for a second, head falling that fraction forward.

Luhan held his breath until Minseok looked back up at the bike. Then his hand resumed its tight little circles. Finally, he spoke.

“No.”

Luhan’s heart sank a little.

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t, Luhan. I no longer have the necessary body parts to ride this bike.”

“No, but- but I do.”

At that Minseok stopped. He turned in his chair to fix Luhan with a look that was almost derisive.

“You?”

“Yeah, I- I used to ride dirtbikes with my uncle.”

Minseok snorted. “This is not a dirtbike.”

“No, no of course not. But it’s the same principle, right?”

Minseok’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment neither of them spoke.

“So what,” Minseok said finally. “You’d ride her, and I’d sit pillion?”

“Yeah?” Luhan twisted his hands together and tried not to look too hopeful.

“You realise, don’t you, that I am a cautionary tale of what happens when this goes wrong.”

Luhan held Minseok’s gaze and let the silence sit. After a long minute, Minseok sighed.

“I’m going to regret this. I just _know_ I’m going to regret this.”

He put his brakes on and stood up. Luhan bit his lip to hold back a grin as Minseok hopped over to the cupboard in the corner of the garage and yanked it open.

“Don’t you make that face at me,” Minseok said, not even looking over his shoulder as he pulled a leather jacket from the cupboard and threw it at Luhan. “Put that on. If it smells like it’s been sitting in storage for three years that’s because it has. What shoes are you wearing?” He turned to squint at Luhan’s Doc Martens. “Yeah, those’ll do. You can wear my gloves, and here-” he took a helmet from the cupboard. “I’m assuming your head isn’t too much fatter than mine.”

Luhan pulled the helmet on and fastened it, then watched Minseok take another leather jacket and helmet from the cupboard. He pulled off his beanie, and Luhan blinked in surprise. For some reason he hadn’t expected Minseok to have purple hair. He didn’t know why anything about Minseok still surprised him.

“Okay.” Minseok turned around and hopped back over to the bike. “You know how this works, right? Clutch, gears, front brake, back brake.” He pointed at the levers and pedals. “Don’t mix them up or we might die.”

Luhan nodded, his heart pounding as he swung a leg over the bike. Minseok put his hand on the seat and gave a little hop, then sighed and tapped Luhan’s shoulder.

“I’m gonna need you to give me a hand here.”

Luhan slid off and offered Minseok his hand.

“No, like, actually help me on.”

“Oh, right.” Luhan looked between Minseok and the bike, then wrapped an arm around Minseok’s waist and hoisted him up as he jumped.

“Yeah, there we go!” Minseok settled himself on the back of the seat and busied himself with tucking the empty leg of his pants through his belt. “Oh, before you get on, grab the remote from the car.”

Luhan retrieved the remote and hit the button to open the roller door as he climbed back onto the bike.

“And if I’m right,” Minseok said, shuffling forward to hold Luhan by the waist, “the keys should be in your right-hand pocket.”

Luhan stuck his hand into his pocket and came up holding a small keyring with two keys and a chipped plastic cat dangling from it.

“The silver one,” Minseok directed. Luhan stuck the key into the ignition, turned it on and grasped the clutch and throttle.

“Ready?”

“With you at the helm? Never.”

Luhan grinned and pressed the start button.

The bike roared to life. Minseok laughed as Luhan jumped back, releasing the throttle so that the growl settled to a gentle purr.

“Okay, kickstand on your left. Careful, she’s heavy.”

Luhan put a foot down and maneuvered the bike down off its stand. As he shuffled more squarely into the seat, Minseok’s arms wrapped around his waist.

“Just round the block, okay?” Minseok called into his ear. “I don’t trust you on the main roads.”

Luhan nodded and put the bike into gear, then carefully eased off the clutch. They sprang forward, leaping out of the garage with a jolt.

“Easy!” Minseok said. “You gotta treat her gentler than that, she’s a lady!”

Luhan stopped at the foot of the driveway and checked the street, which was utterly devoid of traffic.

“Ready to roll?”

“Just go,” Minseok said.

By the end of the first block Luhan had his hand back in. The years of dirtbikes were a transferrable skill, and once he got used to the power of Minseok’s bike it wasn’t too different. They roared away down the second street, around the circuit of the neighbourhood. As they passed the gates of the development, though, Luhan put the indicator on.

“What are you doing?” Minseok called. “I said around the block!”

“I’m finding a better block!”

“ _Luhan_ -”

But they were already out on the main road and accelerating to keep pace with the rest of the traffic. Luhan moved over into the fast lane and took off, carefully toeing the speed limit in case of hidden cops. Up ahead he saw a sign indicating the major intersection, and after it an onramp. Behind him, Minseok gave a delighted laugh, his hands gripping the front of Luhan’s jacket.

“Highway?” Luhan yelled over the roar of the engine and the wind in their faces.

“What?”

“I said, highway!”

Minseok seemed to hesitate, then yelled back.

“Up to you!”

“Yes, then.”

Luhan took the onramp. Behind him he could hear a quiet litany of _“oh my god oh my god oh my god”_ , and he squeezed Minseok’s arms with his elbows.

“Here we go!”

They merged into the traffic, and when a pocket of empty space opened up Luhan gunned it. Minseok whooped in his ear, his laughter spurring Luhan on.

Roaring down the highway with the wind whipping up under his helmet and Minseok’s arms around his waist, Luhan felt like he was flying. This was the feeling of landing that 900, only more, better. This was the sweetest air he’d ever caught.

Luhan took the first downtown exit and headed west along familiar streets.

“Don’t you dare go to the rink,” Minseok yelled in his ear. “Yixing’ll have a heart attack!”

“Don’t worry,” Luhan yelled back. “I’m just turning around.”

Two minutes later they were back on the highway, heading out of town again. Minseok was quiet now, the laughter and cheering gone, but his hands had not relaxed around Luhan’s waist. When Luhan ducked his head to look in the mirror, Minseok’s grin was a thousand miles wide. Luhan squeezed him with his elbows again, and Minseok squeezed back.

By the time they arrived back at Minseok’s house, Luhan was only too happy to get off. The exhilaration of the ride together with the powerful rumbling of the bike had left his arms shaking, and as he put the kickstand down and pulled his helmet off he found he was giggling under his breath.

“Oh my god, help me here.” Behind him he heard the clunk of Minseok’s helmet hitting the floor. “My legs are jelly.”

“Both of them?” Luhan grinned, unbuttoning his jacket.

“Oh, fuck you.”

Minseok was laughing as Luhan turned to help him off the bike. With an arm around Minseok’s waist and one of Minseok’s around his shoulders, Luhan pulled him off the bike, steadying him with his other hand as he staggered and hopped a few steps.

“Ha. Fuck. God, it’s been too long.” Minseok was breathless, still clutching Luhan’s neck to stay upright as he tried to get his balance back.

“I can imagine.” Luhan grabbed Minseok’s other arm to keep him from falling over.

Minseok looked up at Luhan then, grinning madly, and his entire face was so lit up with joy that Luhan couldn’t help but grin back.

Then Minseok lifted his arm from Luhan’s grasp, wrapped it around his neck, and kissed him.

For a moment Luhan was too stunned to react. Then his lips seemed to melt of their own accord into Minseok’s, his eyes fluttering closed as he swayed forward. Dimly it registered in the back of his mind that he would have expected it to be weird, kissing someone with a lip piercing. And yet he couldn't even feel it - couldn't feel anything other than Minseok’s lips, his arms around Luhan's neck, one hand creeping up into his hair.

They broke apart. Luhan opened his eyes and saw Minseok’s lips parted, jaw slack, his eyes dark and fixed on Luhan’s mouth. Luhan’s stomach gave a clench of excitement, and when Minseok breathed a quiet “yeah,” Luhan echoed him and leaned in to meet him in the middle.

This time Minseok’s hands were more insistent at the back of Luhan’s head. He held him close, and when he tilted his head for better access Luhan opened his mouth to let Minseok take what he wanted. His hand between Minseok’s shoulders began to drift, pressing at the small of his back before moving down over the back of his jeans and along his leg. It was only when it moved easily under his touch, coming up to press against his hip, that Luhan realised which thigh was in his hand.

He cupped his hand under Shorty and pulled Minseok closer. Minseok made a low noise at the back of his throat and pressed into him, and when Luhan took the tentative weight on Shorty with a squeeze of his fingers Minseok wrapped his arms more firmly around his neck and let Luhan hoist him up to hook his leg around Luhan’s hip.

“Mm-” Luhan broke away from Minseok’s mouth and took a step towards the inner door. “Where?”

“Upstairs,” Minseok muttered. He shivered as Luhan kissed the bolt of his jaw, his fingers digging into Luhan’s shoulders, and added, “now.”

“Yeah.” Luhan carried him out of the garage and into the hallway, then began up the stairs. Minseok was unexpectedly light in his arms, more an obstacle to vision than movement, and when Luhan paused on the halfway landing it was only so he could press Minseok against the wall and kiss him breathless.

“Turn left,” Minseok said when they reached the top landing. “At the end of the hall, on the right.”

This was the master bedroom, by the looks of it. The bed was huge, with immaculate white linen - a surprising aesthetic next to Minseok’s personality, Luhan thought, as he set him down on the end of the bed and pushed him back. He pulled off Minseok’s sneaker, then turned and sat down in front of him to unlace his own boots.

Minseok sat up and shuffled forward, his foot appearing next to Luhan as his hands came up to slide over his shoulders. As Luhan set the first boot down Minseok peeled his leather jacket off of him and dropped it on the floor, and when Luhan’s hands returned to his second shoe Minseok’s lips were on his neck.

Luhan yanked the shoe off and turned in Minseok’s arms to kiss him. Minseok met him with an open mouth, his hands sliding up into Luhan’s hair to drag him closer until Luhan was practically kneeling in Minseok’s lap. He tugged on the zipper of Minseok’s jacket and pushed it back off his shoulders, pulling the straps of his tank top aside so he could get his hands on Minseok’s skin.

Minseok’s breath shook in his mouth, and he pulled away from Luhan to shed the jacket. Luhan’s jaw dropped as Minseok peeled off his tank top to reveal not just tattooed shoulders but a full mosaic across his chest and stomach.

“Fuck,” he whispered, reaching out to run his fingers across the piece on the left side of Minseok’s chest. A cat curled down from his shoulder, its watercolour fur spilling out across the lines and spiralling around his nipple. As Luhan’s fingers traced over the edge of the colour, Minseok shivered.

“You like him?” he murmured, ducking his chin to look down at the cat. “That’s Myeonggi.”

“You name your tattoos?” Luhan said.

Minseok shook his head. “Just him. He’s special.”

Luhan hummed and bent to press a kiss to the little M on Myeonggi’s forehead. Minseok made a soft noise, his hand coming up to cup the back of Luhan’s head, so Luhan kissed him again, lower, and then once more just at the edge of his nipple.

“Stop teasing me, man,” Minseok muttered.

Luhan moved that last inch south and sucked Minseok’s nipple into his mouth.

“ _Ohh-_ shit.” Minseok’s fingers clenched in Luhan’s hair, scraping across his scalp as Luhan’s tongue flicked over his nipple. “Fuck- fuck, dude, what are you-”

Luhan sat back on his heels. Minseok was already panting, eyes wide and dark. The sight made Luhan want to press forward again, to pin Minseok down and wring more of those moans out of him; instead, he reached out and took Minseok by the shoulders, pulled him forward until he could tilt his head and brush their noses together. There he held him, neither moving to kiss him nor pulling away.

“I knew it,” Minseok whispered, eyes open and staring into Luhan’s. “I fucking knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“The minute you walked through my door,” Minseok said, “I knew we were going to end up like this.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Luhan murmured. He shifted his hand from Minseok’s shoulder, brought it up to brush his thumb across Minseok’s cheekbone.

“No,” Minseok said. “No, I’m just impressed it took this long.”

They moved at the same time, Minseok tilting his head at the same moment that Luhan’s hand cupped around his cheek and pulled him forward. This time the kiss was less frantic, a quieter sort of urgency between their lips as Minseok pulled Luhan into his lap.

“Mm-” Minseok broke away and ran his hands down Luhan’s sides. “Oh, I’m getting impatient.” His fingers slid up under the hem of Luhan’s T-shirt. “I need you all over me like, right now.”

Luhan lifted his arms and let Minseok pull his shirt off over his head. As it fell to the bed beside them he wrapped his hands around the back of Minseok’s neck and kissed him again, letting his hips begin to roll in Minseok’s lap. One hand ran across Minseok’s shoulder and down the front of his chest, eager to touch every available inch of skin.

Minseok gasped, and Luhan stopped. Leaning back, he looked down at Minseok’s chest.

Under his thumb, camouflaged among the ink surrounding it, was a small silver bar through Minseok’s right nipple.

“Holy shit.” Luhan brushed his thumb over the bar again, and Minseok moaned. His head tilted back, eyes sliding closed, chest pushing into Luhan’s touch.

“Mm- yeah, fuck-” It seemed to take Minseok a great effort to lift his head and meet Luhan’s kiss. As Luhan pinched at his nipple, tweaking the bar sideways, Minseok groaned and rolled his hips up against him. “Oh my god, Luhan. Yeah, like that-” Luhan twisted the bar and Minseok cried out, panting into Luhan’s mouth as his whole body shuddered.

Luhan drank it in, revelled in the sight of Minseok, directive and dominant and absolutely unflappable, turning to a whining, pleading mess under his hands. His eyes were squeezed shut, hands clutching at Luhan’s shoulders, hips jerking up in desperate search of friction.

“Oh god. Let me at you, fuck-” Minseok dropped his hands to the button of Luhan’s jeans. As it came open he pushed Luhan backwards off the bed so he could lean forward and yank his jeans down to his knees.

Luhan pushed them the rest of the way, kicking them off and crawling back onto the bed to meet Minseok’s eager hands.

“Fuck, have you got a big cock?” Minseok grabbed Luhan by the thighs, hands running up over the front of his hips and throwing the outline of his erection into relief against the fabric. “Oh my god, you fucking have.” His thumbs skirted the very edge of Luhan’s cock, his tongue almost hanging out of his mouth in a lewd sort of anticipation. With another groan, he sat back and began unbuckling his own belt.

Luhan hooked his fingers into the waistband of Minseok’s jeans and pulled them down over his ass, watched Minseok’s head fall to the side, eyes closed and mouth open, as Luhan’s fingers traced along the length of his thighs. Then he stopped.

It wasn’t like he’d forgotten about it. But there was still something jarring about the way Minseok’s jeans were suddenly loose in his hands, sliding easily off the end of his thigh.

Luhan wasn’t quite sure what he had expected it to look like. He remembered Minseok had mentioned having had tattoos, and somehow he had imagined they would be either entirely there or entirely gone. He hadn’t pictured these fragmented halves. Parts of the pictures were twisted and distorted at the bottom, and the very end was streaked with scars, the surrounding ink cracked and laced through with white and pink. A lone hand rose up out of the scarring, next to the top of what Luhan thought might be the letter A.

Minseok let him stare for a moment, then lifted Shorty off the bed and gave a little wave.

“ _Hello!_ ” he sang, a high-pitched coo. “ _I’m Shorty! I didn’t much like life as a leg, so I decided to try being a Hobbit!_ ”

Luhan gave an involuntary laugh and ducked his head. When he felt like he’d composed his face, he gently pulled Minseok’s jeans the rest of the way off his leg and threw them off the bed.

“How are you so weird but still so sexy, dude?” he said, running his hands back up Minseok’s thighs and over his hips.

“Hey.” Minseok let Luhan push him down onto his back. “The weird is part of the sexy.” He wrapped his arms around Luhan’s neck and kicked him in the hip with Shorty. “You gonna fuck me, or what?”

“Yeah.” Luhan paused to kiss Minseok, then nosed down to mouth at his throat. “Yeah, I am. You want that?”

“Mhm.” Minseok’s voice tightened as Luhan’s lips continued down over his collarbone to his chest. “Yep, that was- that was kind of the ide- _oh god_.”

Luhan brushed over Minseok’s pierced nipple with the lightest touch of his lips. The shake of Minseok’s breath was encouragement enough for him to lick it into his mouth, rattling the little bar between his teeth until Minseok moaned and his fingers dug into the back of Luhan’s head. Then Luhan rolled his hips down, grinding against Minseok to drag that moan into a cry.

“Fuck-” Minseok gasped. “Bro, don’t tease me like this, just - _ah_ \- just get your fucking cock in me, _please_.”

Luhan sat back on his heels and grabbed Minseok by the hips. Minseok pushed himself up onto his elbows and watched Luhan’s hands slide over the front of his boxer briefs, thumbs pressing into the soft space just at the crease of his thigh. When Minseok groaned and moved as if to lift a hand, Luhan slid his fingers under the fabric and peeled Minseok’s underwear off him in one move. He ducked his head and pressed a kiss to Minseok’s hip, tracing his nose back and forth against the sensitive skin, but Minseok pushed him away.

“Luhan- stop playing around, man.” He sat up and grabbed Luhan’s face to look him in the eyes. “I don’t think you understand how much I _fucking need your cock_. Like I appreciate the softness and all, but you need to either get in my ass or get out of my house.”

Luhan almost choked on a laugh. “I think I’ll take door number one.”

“Good boy.” Minseok shuffled backwards up the bed until he could lean over and pull open the top drawer of the bedside table. He rooted around inside for a moment, then closed it and opened the next drawer down. “ _Yeeeeah_ , jackpot.” He tossed a bottle of lubricant onto the bed, closely followed by a box of condoms.

Luhan picked up the bottle of lubricant and, after a moment of struggling, flipped the cap open. He was just about to upend the bottle over his fingers when Minseok made a frustrated noise at the back of his throat.

“What is it?”

“Oh no.” Minseok had a strip of condoms in his hand and was flipping it over in his hands. “No, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. God _dammit!_ ” He threw the box across the room. “They’re expired. Fuck! _Fuck!_ ” He rolled over and buried his face in a pillow.

Minseok’s muffled scream lasted for about five seconds, during which Luhan slipped quietly off the bed and bent to pick up his jeans.

“Hey.” When Minseok didn’t lift his head, Luhan tapped him on the foot. Minseok pushed himself off the pillow and turned to look over his shoulder.

“What?” He squinted at the condom in Luhan’s hand.

Luhan shrugged. “I always keep a couple in my wallet.”

Minseok blinked at him disbelievingly for a second. Then his eyes seemed to roll back in relief.

“You are the single best thing- I swear to god. You just saved my life.” He rolled onto his back and held out his hands towards Luhan. “Get over here, you incredible man.”

Luhan crawled up over Minseok’s body to accept an enthusiastic kiss. When Minseok disengaged, Luhan slid a hand under his shoulder and nudged him over onto his stomach again.

“What would you have done if I hadn’t had one?” he asked, as he ran his hands down Minseok’s back and over his ass.

“Cried, probably,” Minseok said. “Kicked you out and spent the rest of the day sulking. Or just settled for mildly unsatisfying blowjobs.”

Luhan raised an eyebrow and picked up the bottle of lube again. “Should I be offended that you don’t think I can give a satisfying blowjob?”

“Nothing is as satisfying as a cock up the ass,” Minseok said. “ _Nothing_.” He spread his legs at Luhan’s touch.

“I wouldn’t know,” Luhan remarked.

“Poor you.” Minseok made an impatient noise and pushed back against Luhan’s hand. “Come _on_ , stop fucking around.”

Luhan promptly slid his middle finger into Minseok’s ass. The resultant moan went straight through his chest, curling his finger and sending Minseok’s hips bucking back against him.

“ _Oh-_ mm.” Minseok arched his back as Luhan twisted his finger from side to side. “Fuck- another, I wanna feel it.” He dropped his head into the pillow and groaned as Luhan slid a second finger in alongside the first. “Oh shit, yeah, that’s it.”

Luhan dropped forward to press his lips to the skin just above Minseok’s tailbone. Spreading his fingers apart, he soaked in the little moans that Minseok gave into the pillow, the tiny hitches of breath and quiet whispers of approval. He pushed in with a third finger, then withdrew and circled around with just one.

“Hurry up,” Minseok gasped.

Luhan just hummed into the small of Minseok’s back. Two fingers again, then three, twisting and curling and pushing deep until Minseok suddenly shuddered into the sheets.

“ _Oh fuck- that’s it there, Jesus-_ ” he whimpered as Luhan pulled back, gasped at the stretch of a fourth finger, then bit down on the pillow and groaned as Luhan’s thumb brushed over the very edge of his hole. “For fuck’s sake, stop teasing and just _fuck me already_.”

Luhan pulled his fingers out and sat up. He pulled his own boxers off, then grabbed the condom from the bed next to Minseok and ripped the packet open.

“How do you want it?” he said as he rolled it on and slicked himself up with the excess lube from his fingers.

“I honestly don’t care,” Minseok muttered, “as long as it happens _right now_.”

Luhan smirked and grabbed Minseok’s arm to shove him over onto his back.

“You’re a face-to-face kind of guy, huh?” Minseok said, wrapping his arms around Luhan’s neck.

“I wanna see you,” Luhan murmured. He brushed a kiss over Minseok’s lips and reached down with one hand to line himself up.

“Don’t be so goddamn romantic, you make me sick.” Minseok’s grin slipped away and his eyes fell shut as Luhan pushed the tiniest fraction in, just enough to hear the faint squelch of lube, before pulling back. “Mm. Yeah, shit, do it.”

Luhan pushed forward again, further this time, and watched a little crease form between Minseok’s eyebrows as the head of his cock slid inside. He thrust gently forward, matching his depth to Minseok’s moans, until finally he was pressed fully against Minseok’s ass.

“Fuck,” Minseok whispered, eyes squeezed shut and fingers gripping Luhan’s shoulders. “Move, c’mon- _ah-_ ” he dug his nails in and threw his head back as Luhan drew back and thrust in again. “ _Fuck, oh fuck, yeah-_ ”

Luhan scooped his arms under Minseok’s back and sat up, dragging Minseok into his lap. Minseok cried out, scratching into Luhan’s back and clamping down hard around his cock, and Luhan gave him a second to adjust before beginning to thrust up into him again.

“ _Oh, shhhit-_ Luhan- yeah, fuck me, oh god-” every word was punctuated with a moan, and Luhan could hear the incremental pitch of Minseok’s voice that meant he was hitting exactly the right spots.

“Yeah, right there.” Luhan wrapped his arms more firmly around Minseok and dragged him down to meet the next thrust. “Fuck, Minseok, you’re so hot- so tight-” Luhan broke off on a groan as Minseok clenched around him again. Shorty began smacking at his hip as if scrabbling for purchase, so Luhan cupped a hand underneath to give Minseok some leverage. In the next moment, Minseok was lifting up and slamming himself back down, clutching Luhan’s shoulders and gasping against his neck.

Luhan kept driving upwards, jolting Minseok almost out of his lap with every thrust. Minseok was just about whimpering now, each little moan stuttering out of his throat, and his fingers on Luhan’s back were digging in hard enough to hurt.

Luhan could feel the edge approaching, and he wanted Minseok there with him, so he leaned forward and set him back down on the bed. Minseok whined and reached down to grab Luhan by the ass, pulling him deeper until he was almost screaming at every grind of Luhan’s hips.

“ _Shit-_ ” Luhan worked a hand in between them to take Minseok’s cock, stroking in time with his thrusts. Minseok groaned and shook his head, though, smacking Luhan’s hand away from his cock and pulling it up to his chest. With a muttered curse of understanding, Luhan latched onto Minseok’s pierced nipple and twisted the bar between his fingers.

“ _Yeah, oh fu- fuck, Luhan-_ ” Minseok was still holding Luhan’s hand on his chest when he came, gripping tight as his whole body shuddered. Luhan groaned and thrust in harder, chasing that feeling, and it didn’t take more than a few seconds before he was tipping over the edge, hips jolting into Minseok one last time.

When the roar quieted and a comfortable fuzz began to spread through his limbs, Luhan pushed himself up off of Minseok’s chest and pulled out. Then Minseok gave a desperate whimper, and Luhan looked up.

Minseok was still shaking, his cock pulsing weakly onto his stomach with each tremble. His eyes were squeezed shut, an ecstatic crease through his brow, his mouth open around a gasp. As Luhan watched, he made another soft little noise and clenched his hand against his chest.

“Hah. Man.” Luhan flopped down next to Minseok, one arm across his chest. “You okay?”

Minseok just moaned, so Luhan began to rub a soothing hand up and down his arm.

“Dick too bomb, huh?” He kissed the side of Minseok’s head. “Mmm. That’s alright. Take your time, babe.”

It took almost a whole minute before Minseok finally relaxed. When his hand fell to his side and the frown eased out of his face, Luhan gave his arm a gentle little squeeze.

“Are you okay?”

“Mmmmm.” Minseok let out a breath and opened his eyes to blink at Luhan. “Hoo. That was something.”

“You’re telling me.” Luhan propped himself up on an elbow and leaned over to kiss him. “Am I really that good?”

Minseok just smiled, soft and lazy. “You’re pretty good.”

Luhan hummed, unable to keep a grin off his face, and hugged himself to Minseok’s side. They didn’t speak for a moment, during which time Minseok’s hand came up and began gently petting Luhan’s hair.

“You wanna hear something weird?” Minseok murmured, just as Luhan’s mind had begun to wander.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Just now, when I came…” Minseok paused, and then Luhan thought he could hear a smile in his voice. “I could feel it in all ten of my toes.”

It took Luhan a moment to process that. When it finally clicked what Minseok meant, he sat bolt upright and looked down at him in shock.

“Woah, really?”

Minseok nodded, eyes closed, a faintly satisfied smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

“Has that happened before?”

“Nah.” Minseok shook his head. “It’s never as intense when I’m by myself.”

“But when you’re with someone else?” Luhan prodded.

Minseok cracked one eye open to look up at him. “Well, the last time I was with someone else I had ten toes to feel it in.”

Luhan just blinked at him for a second.

Then, “... Oh.”

“Don’t give me that look,” Minseok said, opening both eyes to better scrutinise Luhan’s face. “Is that pity? Get the fuck outta here with that shit. I just had the longest orgasm of my life, stop killing my vibe.”

Luhan looked away and took a moment to mentally kick himself for not realising that Minseok probably hadn’t had much opportunity to get laid in the past few years.

“Oi,” Minseok poked him in the ribs. “Stop it.” He grabbed Luhan by the arm and pulled him back down onto the bed.

“Okay, sorry.” Luhan tried to school his face back into something neutral as he slid an arm over Minseok’s waist again.

“It’s not that no-one wants to fuck the disabled guy,” Minseok said, resuming his stroking of Luhan’s head. “Believe me, I know I’m hot. I could wheel my ass into any bar in town and leave with _at least_ three cocks up it. Guaranteed. It’s just that my social circle is very carefully curated, and it just so happens that none of those people are people I want to fuck.” He turned to press his lips into Luhan’s hair. “You’re kind of the only person who’s actually entered my life since I stopped skating.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.” Minseok rested his chin on Luhan’s head. “This might come as a surprise to you, but most people aren’t in the habit of finding my house and ringing my doorbell to ask for skating tips.”

Luhan cringed into Minseok’s chest, but Minseok just laughed.

“Is it bad that I’m impressed?” he chuckled, ruffling Luhan’s hair. “You’re my favourite stalker.”

“I’m sorry, okay,” Luhan said. “I thought you were just like, taking a break from competitions. I didn’t realise you were-”

“Categorically unable to skate?” Luhan could feel Minseok’s grin against his head. “Well, I didn’t exactly publicise that bit. It’s okay. Your tenaciousness was kind of adorable.”

Luhan groaned and pressed his blush against Minseok’s skin. Minseok laughed again and patted Luhan’s shoulder.

“Come on. Time to get up. Can you give me a lift back to my chair?”

They cleaned up and got dressed, and Luhan carried Minseok back down to the garage.

“Awesome,” Minseok said, as he released his brakes and pivoted himself towards the door. “You hungry?”

“Starving,” Luhan admitted.

“Good, cause I was just about to make lunch before you showed up and seduced me.”

“I didn’t se-!”

“I’m kidding,” Minseok interrupted. “How are you so easy to wind up, dude?”

Luhan clamped his mouth shut and followed Minseok down the hallway.

“Mm, I don’t know about you but I need another cup of coffee!” Minseok parked himself in the middle of the kitchen and got up to hop over to the counter. “Either that or a nap. Maybe both. You want one?”

Luhan wasn’t quite sure whether Minseok was referring to the coffee or the nap, but he nodded anyway. Minseok turned and slid two mugs off the shelf, then set them down next to the coffee machine.

“If you open the fridge, you should see the makings of sandwiches. You wanna get started on those while I do this?”

Luhan nodded and crossed the room to pull the fridge open.

“Pass me the milk while you’re there,” Minseok added.

It was surprisingly easy, the way they moved around each other. Minseok tended to just stay in one place and reach for things or else shuffle sideways along the bench, but Luhan never seemed to be in his way, never bumped into him or pushed things out of reach. Minseok hummed as he steamed the milk, his fingers tapping against the side of the jug, and Luhan hid a smile behind him.

“There you go.” Minseok set the first cup down on the counter and glanced at Luhan’s sandwich preparations. “Lots of lettuce on mine please.”

Luhan grabbed a giant fistful of leaves and dropped them on the bread. “Is that enough?”

Minseok turned to look, then snorted.

“Yes,” he said, observing the lettuce tower with a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. “Yes, that’s perfect, thank you.”

“Cool.” Luhan squashed the lettuce down with another piece of bread and slid the plate across the counter. “There you go.”

“Good job.” Minseok gave a little chuckle as he placed the second cup of coffee on the counter and hopped around to the barstool. “I’m sorted for Vitamin K for the entire week.”

Luhan grinned into the first sip of his coffee. The grin turned into a pleased little hum - Minseok made the best coffee.

“Why weren’t you moaning like that for my ass?” Minseok said, and Luhan choked.

“Oh my god,” he spluttered, while Minseok laughed. “Dude!”

“Fuck, you’re so easy to tease.” Minseok reached out to pat him on the back. “I’m enjoying this.”

“You’re awful,” Luhan muttered.

Minseok just grinned at him around a mouthful of sandwich.

Once the coffee was finished and Minseok had slurped down the last shred of lettuce, Luhan followed him through to a living room hidden off the far side of the kitchen-dining room.

“How freaking big is your house, man?” Luhan asked as Minseok flicked the lights on and let his wheelchair bump down over the little ledge onto the carpet.

“Unnecessarily big,” Minseok admitted. “I bought this place when I was on top of the world and fucking loaded from winning every competition in existence. I used to throw mad parties in here. I pictured myself being one of those guys who would be relevant for generations, you know? Like even when I was in my fifties I’d still be the heart of the skating community, having all the grommets over to regale them with stories of my greatness.” He stopped by the French doors, looking out at the veranda and the huge yard beyond it. “What an ego, huh? I never even considered burning out or fading away. Turns out I didn’t do either - I just went out like a light.”

For a moment there was silence, while Minseok looked out the window and Luhan searched for words.

“You still could,” he said finally.

“Nah.” Minseok turned away from the window with a wry little smile. “Not anymore. I’m an urban legend now. Besides, I don’t want all their pity.”

“Why do you think they would pity you?”

“Everyone pities me.” Minseok parked his chair and slid out of it onto the couch. “At least at first. You did.” As Luhan’s heart gave a guilty pang, Minseok leaned over to grab his laptop from the end table and patted the cushion beside him. “C’mon, sit down. I’m going to teach you how to land that 900 mistiest.”

Luhan carefully folded himself into the space beside Minseok, who had the laptop balanced precariously on his one knee and was opening up YouTube. As the laptop wobbled under Minseok’s hands, Luhan gently slid one leg over to rest under it.

“Cheers,” Minseok muttered, letting it rest on their combined lap. He paused, his fingers wiggling above the keyboard, then typed in his own name and hit enter. “There we go. I’m pretty sure this one will have it.” He clicked on a video titled _Kim Minseok Air Compilation_ and turned the laptop more towards Luhan.

The first clip was of a much younger-looking, less tattooed Minseok in a skate park. He grinned and flashed the camera a V as he passed by, then whizzed up a ramp and flew into the air in a perfect brainless flip.

_“Nice!”_

Luhan blinked. The voice was younger, higher, but he could have sworn it was Yixing behind the camera.

“I was nineteen there,” Minseok murmured. “I’d just won my second or third competition. Man, that was before we bought the warehouse. We were still practising outdoors.”

The second clip was from a competition. Shot from up in the stands, it showed several flips cut together in quick succession, the video jumping from one ramp to the next as Minseok executed spin after spin.

Some of the videos were of competitions, some were at outdoor parks. One or two showed Yixing’s warehouse rink. Luhan was so absorbed in seeing all the different versions of Minseok, with different hair colours and varying amounts of tattoos, that he totally forgot to observe his technique.

“Did you see the way I landed there?” Minseok said, as the video ended. At Luhan’s hesitant noise, he held up a finger and scrolled down the page. “Hang on, I know Yixing got a better angle at _World Xtreme_. It might be down here…” he stopped scrolling and scrutinised the suggested videos on the side of the page. “Hmm, I’m sure he uploaded it.”

Then he paused. Luhan looked, and saw what Minseok was seeing.

_What REALLY Happened To Kim Minseok!!!_

They both stared at the thumbnail for a second. Luhan didn’t dare to even glance sideways at Minseok.

“Hm.” Minseok’s hand hovered over the mouse. “What do you think?” Before Luhan could answer, he clicked on the video.

 _“Hello, friends and fans!”_ The vlogger’s face appeared big in the centre of the screen before he sat back in his chair. _“I’ve got a great topic for you this week! It’s time to break away from the tips and tutorials to discuss a topic that I’ve been getting into some pretty heated debates over recently - Kim Minseok.”_

Minseok snorted. “Do you not have anything more interesting to debate?”

 _“Yeah, Kim Minseok - remember him?”_ The vlogger pulled an exaggerated thinking face, and a picture of Minseok appeared in the corner of the video. _“Yeah, that dude! The one with the tattoos and the green hair!”_ A second picture appeared beside the first. _“Or the blue hair!”_ A third picture. _“Or the red hair!”_ The pictures disappeared and the vlogger’s face filled the screen again. _“If you were skating competitively a few years ago, you might have felt the frustration of going up against Minseok in competitions. Any trick you can do, he’s already done it better. Any competition you place second in, he’s already won three times. He was THE MOST INFURIATING MAN IN SKATING - and yet somehow you kind of wanted to screw him as well! Or was that just me? Maybe that was just me. Awkward.”_

Minseok laughed and shook his head. “This guy has no chill.”

_“And then suddenly one day - POOF! - he disappeared. No more competitions. No more practise videos. No more of the fabled three-day parties at his secluded mansion. Kim Minseok vanished without a trace, leaving only a trail of trophies and blue balls behind him. And since that day, the question everyone has been asking is: WHY? The answer is a lot simpler than you might think. So today, my friends, I will be discussing a few of the most popular theories and telling you why they’re all bullshit. And then I will be telling you - What Really Happened to Kim Minseok.”_

Minseok waved his mouse over the video. “Oh dude, this thing’s like ten minutes long.”

“We don’t have to watch it,” Luhan said.

“Nah, nah,” Minseok shook his head. “I’m intrigued. I wanna know what people are saying.”

_“Most popular theory: he’s dead.”_

Minseok smirked and nudged Luhan in the ribs.

“Shut up,” Luhan muttered, cheeks heating.

 _“ENNHH! Wrong.”_ A giant red X flashed over a picture of a gravestone beside the vlogger’s face. _“This is the one that a lot of people throw around, but it’s dead wrong - excuse the pun - and easily disproven. If Kim Minseok were dead, there would be some record of it! I did some quick Google-fu, and there’s no death record available for Kim Minseok. So unless he went by some other name or his death was somehow kept off the record, this theory is RIGHT OUT.”_

The vlogger made an X with his arms as a jingle played in the background.

“Man, he’s got theme music and everything,” Minseok said. “He’s invested way too much into this.”

_“Theory number two: he has retired from public life-”_

“Correct,” Minseok muttered.

_“- and is now living in a nudist colony.”_

Minseok burst out laughing. “ _What?!_ ” He hit the spacebar to pause the video while he laughed. “What the fuck? That’s fucking great. Why did I never think of that, I’ve always hated wearing clothes.”

Luhan privately thought that he rather hated Minseok wearing clothes too.

“Oh, fuck me sideways.” Minseok wiped at his eyes and unpaused the video, still chuckling to himself.

 _“The logic behind this is that nudist colonies tend to be very closed communities, and they don’t usually allow cameras. This would explain why no-one has seen him in public since_ East Xtreme _the year before last.”_

“Your logic is impeccable,” Minseok said, as the video cut to a clip of him flying through the air at _East Xtreme_. “It couldn’t possibly have been that three days after that competition I was a leg down and on life support.”

Luhan looked at Minseok out the corner of his eye, his heart squeezing tight as he recognised the video clip being played. This was the first _East Xtreme_ he had attended, and the only time he’d ever seen Minseok skate. The realisation of how close that day had been to Minseok’s accident sent a wash of heat through his entire body. He suddenly wanted to hug Minseok close, to hold him to his chest and calm the sudden, retrospective fear that had taken up residence underneath his heart.

 _“The problem with this theory is that do you know how hard it is to keep a secret in this digital age?!”_ The vlogger leaned out of his seat to eyeball the camera. _“Do you really think that Kim Minseok could have been living in a nudist camp for the past two years and NO-ONE SAID A WORD? Sure, a famous skater with orange hair and two full sleeve tattoos moves in down the road, but that’s totally normal, why would you mention to anybody that Kim Minseok is your next door neighbour?!”_ He sat back and seemed to take a calming breath. _“So. This one is plausible, but ultimately not realistic. Secluded as nudist colonies are, I don’t think they’re quite secluded enough to hide a five-time world champion.”_

“Six, actually,” Minseok smirked.

_“The last theory that I’ve been hearing a lot lately is that Kim Minseok simply got tired of being Kim Minseok. It’s impossible to be that famous and not get some hate, plus he must have been so sick of getting approached by fans all the time.”_

Minseok gave a derisive snort. “Because I’m that much of an asshole that I hate my own fans.”

_“So what he did is - hear me out here - he briefly retired from public life, went away to a private clinic for a whole lot of plastic surgery, and came back three months later as a brand new skater called Mark Tuan.”_

“Mark Tuan?” Minseok baulked. “Who the hell is Mark Tuan?”

“Current world champ,” Luhan said. “He’s won since the year after you left.”

Two pictures appeared side-by-side on the screen, Minseok and Mark staring into the camera as if for professional headshots.

_“Here’s the problem with this, folks.”_

“That we look absolutely nothing alike?”

_“Tattoos. Now, obviously, if you were a world-famous celebrity in need of personal reinvention, you would want to get rid of all your identifying tattoos, right? But here’s the thing: Mark only has a couple of tattoos on one arm, and the other arm is completely bare. And I took the liberty of acquiring some pretty decent pictures of Mark’s arms, and let me tell you - there is not a single scar on that skin. Even the best laser removal will leave some sort of blemish, and Mark’s arms are as smooth as a baby’s. No needle has ever touched that skin.”_

Minseok snorted and shook his head. “His thought process is amazing. Don’t bother looking up our fucking skating history or anything, or the fact that _we’re clearly from two different countries_ \- nah, just look at our biceps.”

_“Now, I know what you’re thinking: if Kim Minseok isn’t dead, or a nudist, or disguised as Mark Tuan, then what happened to him? Fear not, friends and fans! I have the answer.”_

“Oh, I am so ready to hear this,” Minseok said, leaning forward.

_“The truth is this: for the past two years, Kim Minseok… has been… in rehab.”_

“In _rehab?!_ ” Minseok squawked. “ _Excuse me?_ ”

_“Think about it, my friends! Aside from skating, what is Kim Minseok most famous for? That’s right - his parties. Parties, my friends. Three-day benders at his private mansion, all drinks provided, and god knows what other substances available to the discerning guest. It’s no wonder that after half a decade of non-stop bingeing he finally hit the end. With no warning and not a word to anyone, he checked into a rehab clinic to get his life sorted. And due to several severe relapses, that’s where he’s been ever since.”_

“This guy’s brain is a bag of cats,” Minseok said. “Seriously, dude, what the fuck?”

 _“Of course, without an official statement from Kim Minseok or his family, it’s difficult to confirm this theory. Rehab admissions are very private, and the records aren’t publicly available. However, our best guess is that he’s staying at this secluded clinic in the countryside. Many celebrities have checked in here for treatment over the years, so no doubt when Kim Minseok finally emerges he will have made a fair few important new friends. The only question then is: will he return to skating? Or will he try to preserve his new-found sobriety by staying as far away from the competitions as possible? We’ll have to wait to answer that question.”_ The vlogger sat back in his chair, and a cheerful tune began to play over his voice. _“Well, friends and fans, I hope that’s helped put your minds at rest about the mysterious disappearance of Kim Minseok. I’ll see you next week with a new video about the history of anti-rockers. Bye for now!”_ He saluted the camera, and the screen cut to a patchwork of tiles advertising his other videos.

“Hm.” Minseok stopped the video and scrolled down to look at the vlogger’s profile. “Well, Suho91, that’s a really interesting theory you’ve got there. You’ve clearly put a lot of thought into the minutiae of someone else’s life. All I can say is: get a job, dude.” He flipped the laptop shut and set it down on the end table, then leaned back and began rubbing Shorty. “This is why I don’t Google myself.”

Luhan gave him a worried look. “Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine. It’s just raining, that’s all.”

Luhan glanced out the window and saw that the sunny day had indeed turned overcast, and tiny droplets of rain were beginning to splatter against the glass.

“Shorty doesn’t like the rain,” Minseok explained, then sighed. “I’m gonna do some exercises.”

He slid himself from the couch into his wheelchair and turned towards the door. Luhan scrambled up off the couch after him.

“Should I go?”

Minseok shrugged. “Only if you want to. I’m not doing anything the rest of the day.” He wheeled himself to the doorway and struggled for a moment before managing to shove his chair up over the tiny ledge onto the tiles.

Luhan followed him into the dining room and perched on one of the barstools at the kitchen counter while Minseok parked his chair and hopped over to his gym frame.

“So I dunno if you got any sense of how to do those flips,” Minseok said. “We really only watched the one video, and I think there was only one mistiest in there, so that probably wasn’t very helpful. I can find some better clips for you if you want.”

Luhan shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I think I just need to work out where it is that I’m tripping up. Is it my posture on the landing?”

“Yeah, I think it might just be that you’re not quite getting around?” Minseok picked up the ball from its basket and sandwiched it between his hip and the wall. “That’s why you’re falling, I think, cause you’re trying to go one direction while you’re still turning in another. Just work on getting all the way around before you touch down and you should be fine.”

They talked about torque and technique, the elusive 1620, and the relative merits of tri-rockers versus freestyle skates. The whole time, Minseok was squatting and stretching, pulling back on an elastic band around Shorty and lifting his body against the frame. Finally he stopped and threw the band back into the basket with a grunt of frustration.

“God dammit.” He glowered down at Shorty. “Calm your shit, dude.”

Luhan made a sympathetic face. “It hurts?”

“Every time a storm rolls in,” Minseok said. “I have the worst cramp in my foot right now.” He dropped into his wheelchair and headed around the counter to the kitchen.

“In your foot?”

“Yep.” Minseok pulled open a drawer and rummaged around among the pill bottles there. “Phantom limb is a bitch.”

“Woah.”

“Yeah, woah.” Minseok popped a pill and cupped a handful of water from the tap to swallow it, then wiped his mouth before continuing. “The novelty wears off real fuckin’ quick.” He turned to Luhan and gave him a considering look.

“What?” Luhan felt evaluated, and not in the same way as when Minseok watched him skate.

“Do you want to help me, dude?”

“Yes.” The word was out of his mouth too quickly, too earnestly, and Luhan bit his lip while Minseok tilted his head to the side.

“Okay. C’mon.” Minseok wheeled himself back into the living room, bumping down onto the carpet and parking next to the couch.

Luhan sidled in after him and watched while Minseok opened up his laptop on the end table.

“Lie down,” Minseok instructed.

“Uh. Okay.” Luhan sat on the couch, and at a pointed look from Minseok lay down on his back.

Music began to play from the laptop. Minseok lowered the volume, then slid out of his chair and climbed on top of Luhan.

“Um-”

“Shh.” Minseok carefully maneuvered himself in between Luhan’s legs, then lay down. Pillowing his head on Luhan’s chest, he gave a comfortable sigh.

“What are we doing?” Luhan whispered.

“We’re cuddling. Stroke my hair or something.”

“Oh. Right.” Luhan lifted a hand to Minseok’s head and began combing his fingers through his hair. “How does this help your leg?”

“Things that help phantom pain,” Minseok mumbled, “at least in my experience: nice music, being snuggled, and if all else fails, a damn good nap.” He rubbed his cheek against Luhan’s shirt to flatten out a wrinkle, then relaxed against him with a hum. “I’m assuming given that you’ve already slept with me you won’t mind actually _sleeping_ with me.”

“Of course not,” Luhan murmured. He wrapped his unoccupied arm around Minseok’s waist and gave him a little squeeze, and Minseok responded with the edge of a smile against his shirt.

Luhan held Minseok until his breathing turned slow and even, Shorty’s intermittent twitches growing fewer and farther between and finally stopping altogether. He kept stroking his hair, hand moving in gentle waves, long after Minseok’s laptop had run out of battery and powered down. Luhan lay there in the stillness and stared out at the torrential rain beyond the window until dusk began to fall and he slipped into a doze.

-

“Hey.”

Luhan snorted awake.

“Whu-”

“Stop slobbering on my couch and get up.”

Luhan smacked a clumsy hand against his face and came away covered in drool.

“Oh. Shit.” He rolled over to look up at Minseok, who was smirking down at him from his wheelchair.

“Dinner’s ready,” he said, poking Luhan in the shoulder again.

“It’s dinner time?” Luhan sat up and rubbed the grooves the seam of the cushion had pressed into his cheek.

“Yeah, dude.” Minseok, already halfway to the door, glanced back over his shoulder. “You were out for like three hours.”

Luhan stumbled upright and drifted into the kitchen behind Minseok. “Mm. That smells really good.”

“Ya boi can cook,” Minseok quipped, pushing a steaming plate along the counter in Luhan’s direction. Luhan gave a grunt of thanks and dug in, not even registering until the second or third mouthful that it was pasta he was eating.

“It’s good,” he mumbled.

“Clearly.” The corner of a grin twitched around Minseok’s eyes as he reached for the salt.

Luhan gave an embarrassed grimace and straightened up, making an attempt to chew more slowly.

“So, how’s your leg?”

“Better,” Minseok said. “Sleep helps. Cooking, too.”

Luhan shot him a quizzical look. “How does cooking help?”

“It’s something I enjoy doing,” Minseok said simply.

“Oh.”

They fell into comfortable silence, side by side at the counter. Minseok swivelled his barstool back and forth while he ate, a gentle rhythm driven by some internal metronome. As they finished eating he reached over and slid Luhan’s plate towards him with one finger, then stacked it on top of his own.

“I’m just gonna wash the dishes,” he said.

Luhan stood up as Minseok hopped around the counter to the sink. “Do you want me to help? Dry, or something?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Minseok turned the tap on and began rinsing the plates. “I let them drip dry. You just sit there and look pretty.”

Luhan leaned against the counter and tucked his hands under his armpits to try and dispel the itch of doing nothing while Minseok worked.

“You can grab a soda or something from the fridge, if you want,” Minseok suggested, glancing over his shoulder as he scrubbed at a saucepan.

Luhan crossed to the fridge and pulled the door open.

“Down the bottom,” Minseok said.

Luhan ducked down and saw that the bottom shelf was lined with cans and cans of soda, dozens of cans from as many different brands.

“Dude, are you running a sneaky convenience store out of your garage or something?”

Minseok laughed. “I just really like soda. Sweet, sweet calories, man.” He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “I’m probably the most unhealthy fitness freak in the world.”

“Just drink diet,” Luhan suggested.

“Nah.” Minseok shook his head. “I’m allergic to aspartame.”

“Oh, right.” Luhan chose a soda and straightened up. “That sucks.”

“Yeah. Of all the available options from my host of medical issues, that’s the one that annoys me.”

Luhan pulled a sympathetic face and returned to lean against the counter as he cracked the can open.

Minseok hummed to himself while he washed the plates, and Luhan watched him quietly. A purple tendril hung down between Minseok’s eyebrows, bouncing almost to his nose with the movement of his scrubbing. Luhan recognised the familiar focus that Minseok applied to important things - exercises, polishing his bike, and, it seemed, housework.

“Okay.” Minseok pulled the plug from the sink and rinsed the suds off his hands. “Those can dry there, and I’ll put them away in the morning.” He turned to Luhan. “How are you doing?”

Luhan shrugged. “Good.”

“Do you want to go to the rink?”

Luhan thought about going to Yixing’s warehouse and skating. He thought about practising, landing a perfect flip, Minseok’s approving yell from the other side of the rink.

Then, unbidden, he thought about Minseok naked in his arms, sweating and shaking and clawing at Luhan’s back as he came in violent spurts across his chest.

Luhan shook his head.

“No,” Minseok said. “No, me neither.”

For a moment, they just looked at each other. Then Minseok moved. He didn’t hop or shuffle towards Luhan, just shifted his weight slightly to push himself away from the sink. Luhan set his half-empty soda down on the counter and took the two steps to cross the distance between them.

The way Minseok’s arms wrapped around Luhan’s waist felt as natural as breathing, the way he rose onto his toes and tilted his head as if he already knew the perfect angle at which to kiss him. Luhan slid a hand into Minseok’s hair and ate up the approving little noise he made.

“Hey,” Minseok whispered into Luhan’s lips. “You said something about keeping _a couple_ of condoms in your wallet, right?”

“Yeah.” Luhan paused to kiss Minseok again. “I’ve got one more.”

“Awesome.” Minseok said nothing further, just dove into Luhan’s mouth again. One hand slid from Luhan’s waist down over his ass, then up under the hem of his shirt, and then deftly down the back of his jeans.

“Mm-” Luhan sucked a smile into Minseok’s bottom lip and pushed the strap of his tank top aside to trace a hand over his shoulder. “Are you going to be bossy and impatient again this time?”

Minseok laughed, pulling his lip out from between Luhan’s teeth. “You cannot blame me for being impatient in breaking a three-year drought. I reserve the right to be bossy.”

Luhan gave a hum of amusement and broke away from Minseok’s mouth to kiss the skin just at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Minseok sighed and tilted his head to give Luhan better access, his hand squeezing Luhan’s ass at the first faint graze of teeth.

“Better take my time while I can, then,” Luhan murmured. “Before you decide you need dick urgently.”

“I always need dick urgently,” Minseok quipped, but there was a breath through his voice that belied his pretense at composure.

“Really.” Luhan traced his lips up the length of Minseok’s neck, and at the hitch of his breath slid a thumb under the strap of Minseok’s tank top to brush over his pierced nipple.

“Jesus Christ.” Minseok gripped Luhan’s back as a shiver rolled through him. “ _Let’s take it slow_ , he says. _I’m gonna push all your fucking buttons_ , he says.” He bit back a whine and rolled his chest through Luhan’s touch. “Not fair, man.”

“I never said this was going to be fair,” Luhan murmured, drunk on the hammering of Minseok’s pulse against his lips.

“Oh shit. Are you trying to dominate me, dude? Is that what’s happening here?” Minseok dragged in a breath and let it tremble out of his lips behind Luhan’s ear. “Cause I could be down for that.”

 _Holy fuck._ Luhan’s stomach fell through the floor and white-hot arousal flooded in to take its place. What the fuck kind of unreal magic was this? He wasn’t a dominant kind of guy, he didn’t _do this_. He was used to being talked at, being pushed down and ridden by boys just like Minseok - but not like Minseok, because Minseok was turning out to be an altogether different kind of man. Minseok told Luhan when he was getting to him, not just screaming in pleasure but actually giving Luhan feedback, encouragement, _praise_ \- 

“Come on, Luhan,” Minseok said. “Tell me what to do.”

Luhan took an unsteady breath and gave Minseok’s throat another kiss for courage.

“Your hands are doing a whole lot of nothing right now,” he said, because he didn’t quite have the guts to say _I want you to touch me._

Minseok seemed to get the message. Within a second his fingers were working at the zipper of Luhan’s jeans, deft and eager and so overwhelmingly _welcome_ that Luhan almost wanted just this, this feeling, forever. But then his fly was pulling open, and Minseok was undoing the button on his boxers.

“Oh fuck, you’re so hard.” Minseok groaned into Luhan’s shoulder, open-mouthed and panting as his hand began working slowly over Luhan’s cock. “ _Fuck_ \- I wanna suck your cock, I wanna suck it so bad-”

Luhan whined at the pulse of heat that sent up his spine. The sudden image of Minseok on his knees - knee - how would he balance? - mental image gone. _Dammit._

But Minseok was still talking. “Yeah, suck you real good, make you come in my mouth, you would not _believe_ how much cock this little mouth can take-”

Luhan thrust up into Minseok’s hand, thumb still flicking over his nipple, teeth bared against his throat. Minseok’s words got lost somewhere in a moan and he wobbled slightly in Luhan’s arms. Luhan was reminded that Minseok was trying to balance on one shaking leg, so he wrapped his arms around Minseok’s waist, spun him around, and pushed him against the counter.

“Mmm, pushy pushy.” Minseok seemed delighted by this, leaning back onto the counter and looking up at Luhan through his lashes. As Luhan ran his hands over Minseok’s hips, Minseok kicked Shorty at him, flicking Luhan with the empty leg of his pants. “Well, don’t stop now.”

Sliding his fingers under the waistband of Minseok’s jeans, Luhan decided what he wanted. The only question was whether Minseok would let him have it.

The tilt of Minseok’s head as Luhan popped the button of his pants open suggested that Luhan was welcome to take anything he desired.

“What do you want?” Minseok asked, as Luhan pulled Minseok’s jeans down past the end of Shorty and let them fall to the floor around his foot. “You gonna fuck me against the counter?”

“Not quite.” Luhan grabbed Minseok by the shoulders and turned him to face the counter, then crouched down, wrapped an arm around his hips, and hoisted him up. Minseok gave a squeal of surprise as his stomach hit the cold vinyl.

“What are you doing?” He looked back over his shoulder at Luhan.

Luhan didn’t answer, just ran a hand over Minseok’s ass, palming it through his boxer briefs.

“You just like having me up here, huh?” Minseok grinned at him, delightedly cheeky. In answer, Luhan gave one buttcheek a gentle slap.

“You still have a skater ass,” he observed, squeezing it.

“I will always have a skater ass,” Minseok preened. “You spend a decade of your life on a half-pipe, that shit sticks around. Glutes of steel, my dude.”

As if to prove it, he clenched his buttcheeks. The instant definition against his underwear was startling, and Luhan suddenly wasn’t sure which was harder - Minseok’s ass, or his own dick. Acting on that thought, he hooked his fingers into the top of Minseok’s briefs and pulled them down.

“Ooh, now we’re getting somewhere.”

Instead of answering, Luhan ran his hands up Minseok’s sides, down his back, then grabbed his ass cheeks and spread them apart. Minseok made a small noise, whether of satisfaction or anticipation Luhan couldn’t tell.

He took a moment to just look: Minseok, spread out on the counter before him, his hole clenching at the air as Luhan’s thumb traced along the length of his crack. Luhan leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the small of Minseok’s back.

“You have no idea how much I want you right now,” he murmured.

“Oh, I have a pretty good idea.” Minseok pushed back into Luhan’s touch. “All yours, dude. Right here for the taking.”

Luhan grinned against Minseok’s skin. The grin turned into a kiss, then another just at Minseok’s tailbone, and then, after a moment of hesitation, a slow, deliberate lick across Minseok’s asshole.

“ _Oh my god._ ” Minseok’s hips jolted, and Luhan felt him shiver under his hands. “ _Oh Jesus. Okay. This is happening_.”

Luhan hummed and licked in again, tracing lazy patterns over Minseok’s hole. When Minseok whimpered, he pushed deeper, fucked in with his tongue until Minseok began to writhe underneath him.

“Luhan - holy _fuck_ , dude, you- _ohmyfuckinggod_.”

Minseok shuddered and his voice broke up an octave; he seemed to be struggling for control. Luhan pulled back.

“Already?”

“I haven’t had sex in _three years_ , man, I’ve got a fucking hair trigger right now.” Minseok hooked his foot backwards around Luhan’s knee and pulled him forward. “Are you gonna fuck me? Cause you’ve got a very limited window of opportunity before I come all over literally everything.”

Luhan laughed and pressed another kiss to Minseok’s buttcheek, then nudged at his hip until he rolled over and sat up on the counter. Luhan slotted himself in between Minseok’s legs and wrapped a hand around the back of his neck to pull him into a kiss.

“Mmm,” Minseok muttered against Luhan’s lips. “Tastes like ass.”

In response, Luhan licked from Minseok’s chin up to his nose. Minseok yelped and pushed him away to wipe a hand across his face, which he then smeared down Luhan’s cheek.

“Payback’s a bitch,” Minseok grinned.

“Right.” Luhan grabbed Minseok’s arm and hauled him over his shoulder. “To the bedroom with you.”

“Oh nooo,” Minseok gave a couple of half-hearted slaps to Luhan’s back. “Not the bedroom. Have mercy.”

Luhan hefted him into a better position and headed for the stairs. Once again he found himself surprised by Minseok’s lightness - despite the token protest he was putting up, he was barely an armful to carry.

“Dude, how much do you even weigh?”

Minseok snorted. “About twenty-five pounds less than I should.”

Luhan momentarily baulked at that - how could Minseok be so underweight and still look so muscular? - until a sardonic chuckle into his back told him that twenty-five pounds was probably the approximate weight of a human leg.

“Fucker,” he muttered, and pinched Minseok’s ass.

“No, that’s you,” Minseok gave a hiccupping laugh as Luhan jolted him up the stairs. “In about five minutes.”

“Yeah, if you’re lucky.”

Minseok kicked him in the chest with Shorty, so Luhan caught him and ducked his head to kiss the tattooed hand just at the edge of the scarring. There was a little noise of surprise from behind him, and then after a moment the press of Minseok’s face against his back. Luhan squeezed Shorty, and received a wiggle in return.

Luhan pushed the bedroom door open and tipped Minseok forward over his shoulder. Minseok gave a squeak as his back hit the bed, which quickly turned into a giggle when Luhan crawled up over him and nosed his way up Minseok’s stomach to kiss his neck.

“Are we gonna turn the lights on?” Minseok whispered.

Luhan sat back on his heels. With the curtains open, the light of a crescent moon and the streetlamp outside gave Minseok a glimmer of magic. He shook his head.

“No, I like this.”

Minseok closed his eyes and smiled, then sat up and reached for Luhan’s shirt.

“Let me at that body.”

He pulled Luhan’s shirt off and threw it over his shoulder, then returned his hands to Luhan’s chest, closely followed by his lips. When Luhan looked down, Minseok was looking back up at him, and as his mouth pressed to the soft space between ribs and abs Luhan felt a rush of warmth through his chest.

“Gorgeous,” Minseok murmured into Luhan’s skin. “Do all skaters look like Greek gods these days, or is it just you?”

“Pfft. Fuck off.” Luhan nudged Minseok’s shoulder and shook his head to try and clear the heat in his cheeks.

Minseok reached up and hooked a hand around the back of Luhan’s neck, and Luhan went willingly to meet his kiss. Straddling Minseok’s lap, he let his hands wander up under his tank top to tease around Minseok’s nipples.

“You’re playing a dangerous game there,” Minseok muttered.

“Is there a better game I should be playing?”

“You tell me.” Minseok let his hand trace down Luhan’s chest towards his open fly. “Is there another game you’d like to play?”

The touch of Minseok’s warm fingers tracing along the length of his cock finally plucked loose Luhan’s last thread of restraint. He pushed Minseok backwards and hooked an arm under his leg to push it up towards his chest.

“I can think of a couple of fun things I’d like to do.” He heard the edge of a growl in his own voice, felt it in the way Minseok shivered underneath him, and he ran his hand up the back of Minseok’s thigh until he reached his ass.

“Mm-” Minseok let out the breath of a moan. “Luhan, let me-”

“Hm?” Luhan paused, finger hovering just at the edge of Minseok’s hole where it had been tracing little circles.

“If you do it I’m just gonna come right away, and that’s no fun. Let me.” Minseok craned his neck up to kiss Luhan as he pushed his hand away.

Luhan shuffled back to let Minseok sit up and grab the lube from the far side of the bed. He watched, eyes straining in the dim light from outside, as Minseok flipped open the bottle and coated his fingers, then reached down between his thighs and pushed one into himself.

“ _Mm_ …”

Minseok’s head fell back between his shoulders, mouth open, finger working slowly in and out of his body. Luhan groaned and reached out to place his hand on Minseok’s knee, desperate just to touch any part of his skin.

“Fuck, you look so good.”

Minseok gave a little gasp of laughter, then rolled his head as he slid a second finger in.

“ _You_ look like you’re doing nothing interesting,” he said. “C’mon, I wanna see you touching yourself. Or am I boring to watch?”

Luhan didn’t even bother to respond, just dropped his hand to the open fly of his jeans and took hold of himself. Minseok gave an approving little smile and let his eyes fall closed again.

“Oh man, I’m gonna fuck you so hard,” Luhan muttered. “Shit. You look so good.” He popped the button of his fly open and pushed his jeans and boxers down to his knees. “Yeah, fucking finger yourself, babe, open that ass up nice and wide.”

“Gotta stretch it to take your big cock,” Minseok replied, head lolling against his shoulder, eyebrows furrowed together in a restraint of pleasure. “Did you just call me ‘babe’?”

“Uh-” Luhan stopped, realising he’d just crossed a line, and felt his face begin to flame.

“That’s cute,” Minseok continued, eyes still closed and completely unaware of Luhan’s embarrassment. “I never really saw myself as a ‘babe’. You might have to keep that one.”

Luhan wasn’t entirely sure whether Minseok meant that in the sense that Luhan could keep calling him babe, or in the sense that Luhan should keep it to himself and not say it again. He ducked his chin to his chest to try and hide his burning cheeks and resolved to watch his mouth a little more closely in future.

Minseok moaned, and Luhan looked up to see that he had three fingers inside himself now. The stretch around his knuckles, the twitch of his cock against his stomach, the little frown creased through his forehead - Luhan lurched forward on the bed, his hand moving faster over his own cock.

“Oh my god, _please_ -”

“Just a minute.” Minseok rolled his hips up against his hand and moaned again. “I’m almost there.” He slipped a fourth finger in and twisted his hand, gasped, pushed his hips forward. “Yeah, fuck, that’s it.” He slowly withdrew his fingers, still moving and circling as he pulled them out.

“You ready?”

“Yeah.” Minseok leaned forward and brushed a kiss over Luhan’s lips. “How do you want me?”

Luhan chased the shadow of his touch, stealing another kiss as Minseok pulled back. “How do you like it?”

He felt Minseok’s smirk against his lip. “Ideally, on my hands and knees, screaming into a pillow.”

“That works for me.”

Minseok gave a self-deprecating little huff. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I’m rather lacking in the knees department.”

Luhan facepalmed internally.

“My entire balance kind of relies on my leg being in the middle. So unless your dick goes diagonally, that’s not gonna work.”

Luhan sat back to take a better look at Minseok. After a moment of consideration, he shrugged.

“It’s worth a shot.”

Minseok raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Luhan twirled a finger. “Yeah, let’s give it a try.”

Minseok looked sceptical, but turned around anyway. Luhan pulled his wallet out of his pocket to grab the condom, then shoved his jeans and boxers all the way off and climbed back onto the bed behind Minseok.

“This is so not going to work,” Minseok muttered into his shoulder as he looked back at Luhan rolling the condom on. “I’m not going to be able to balance.”

Luhan didn’t reply, just shuffled forward until he was kneeling directly behind Minseok and placed his hands on Minseok’s hips. Then, slowly, gently, he pulled him off balance.

“Oh my god oh my god fuck-” Minseok adjusted his hands on the bed as Shorty waggled frantically underneath him. “I’m gonna fall over!”

“You’re not going to fall over,” Luhan said. “I’ve got you.” He gave Minseok’s right hip a squeeze. “Put your weight on this hand.”

Minseok hesitated, then carefully let his hip drop into Luhan’s hold. With Minseok’s arms braced on the bed to take the front half of him, Luhan barely noticed the weight.

“See? I can hold you. Just trust me. I’m not going to drop you.”

“Oh my god.” Minseok dropped his head between his arms, then straightened his back and nodded. “Okay. Okay, let’s give it a go.”

Luhan took his left hand from Minseok’s hip and ran it across the small of his back, then down over his ass. Taking care not to push Minseok further off balance, he guided his cock in between Minseok’s cheeks and lined himself up. He waited for a moment until he saw the tension ease from Minseok’s shoulders, then pushed forward.

Minseok let out a shaking breath as the head of Luhan’s cock slid into him, followed by a whine of protest as he withdrew.

“No, come on, don’t fucking tease me- _ahh-_ ” he arched his back as Luhan pushed in again, deeper this time, pulling Minseok’s hips back to meet him. “Ohh, fuck, yeah.”

Luhan grunted in agreement and shifted his hands to get a better grip on Minseok’s hips, taking a breath to calm the storm in his chest. It was all so new, the feel of Minseok’s body holding him, pulling him in. This was a different man from the one who sat at the side of the rink and yelled instructions, encouragements, reminders - this was a Minseok who cried out in surprised pleasure, who pushed his hips back against Luhan to shove him deeper, who threw his head back and moaned like he wanted to wake the neighbours.

This was a Minseok that Luhan thought he could stand to see more of.

“Yeah, shit, right there-” Minseok made as if to move a hand, then wobbled and readjusted his position with a muttered curse. Luhan paused for a second to give him a chance to catch his balance, then resumed with a cautious thrust. Minseok made a noise in the back of his throat and shoved his ass backwards.

“Give it to me harder, c’mon - god dammit, Luhan, _fuck me like you mean it!_ ”

Luhan snorted and snapped his hips forward, sending Minseok scrambling for a better handhold.

“That’s more like it- come on, you can do better, I want you to make me _scream_ -”

Luhan adjusted his grip on Minseok’s right hip and reached forward with his left hand to grab the fabric of Minseok’s tank top, which was bunched up around his armpits. With that fistful he yanked Minseok back, until his ass was flush against Luhan’s hips and Luhan could grind into him, rough and dirty and hard enough to drag a cry out of Minseok’s throat.

“How’s that?” he growled, grabbing a better handful and doing it again. “Is that hard enough - you gonna scream for me?”

“Keep- _ah_ \- keep going and y- y- eah- _fuck_.”

Minseok dissolved into a moan, and as Luhan thrust in again his arms buckled and he pitched forward onto the bed. Luhan stopped, his hand halfway to Minseok’s shoulder to help him back up, but Minseok just turned his head, groaned, and clenched his ass around him.

“Keep _going_.”

Luhan swore under his breath. Minseok’s cheeks were flushed, mouth open and panting; as Luhan circled his hips again Minseok brought a hand to his mouth and bit down on one knuckle to stifle a groan.

“Jesus-” he gritted out without unclamping his teeth, “right there, _right fucking there, Lu_ -”

Luhan watched the ripples of pleasure across Minseok’s face, the way his eyebrows drew together at the stronger thrusts, the visible shivers that chased each other up his spine. The tiny gasps and moans that fell from his lips were on their own enough to send Luhan’s stomach into knots.

“Minseok, fuck - I’m gonna come-”

“Yeah,” Minseok whined, “yeah, shit yeah-”

Luhan heard the seams of Minseok’s top crack as he dragged him back onto his cock and shoved in hard. Minseok cried out, and his hand fell away from his teeth as he opened his mouth in a silent scream. Luhan’s own moan got lost in the roar that rushed through his ears as he curled forward over Minseok’s back, hips shuddering, chest heaving.

He shifted a tingling hand, let go of Minseok’s shirt and reached around underneath him to grab his cock. Minseok gasped and pushed his hips weakly into Luhan’s grip, and Luhan jerked him with numb, fumbling strokes until Minseok moaned and came with a shudder onto the bedspread.

For a moment they just breathed. Then Luhan shifted back, pulled out and slumped sideways onto the bed. A split second later he remembered that he was supposed to be holding Minseok up, as Minseok made a surprised noise and toppled over.

“Mm- sorry.”

“‘S’okay.” Minseok rolled onto his side to face Luhan. His smile was lazy and satisfied, his cheeks still flushed, and in the moonlight Luhan could see the lingering trails of sweat across his forehead.

As they caught their breath, Minseok shifted a hand out into the space between them. Luhan summoned the willpower to move his muscles and flopped his own hand on top of Minseok’s, not holding so much as just touching. Minseok smiled and closed his eyes.

A second later he opened his eyes again to stare at Luhan. Luhan twitched a questioning frown, and Minseok blinked at him for a moment before speaking.

“You’re staying, right?”

Something in the tone of Minseok’s voice made Luhan wonder whether he meant for the night, or in general.

He nodded.

“Good.” Minseok closed his eyes again and squeezed Luhan’s hand. “That’s good.”

Luhan lay there and watched him - the way the clouds played moonlight across his cheeks, the soft part of his lips around breath, the occasional flicker of his eyelashes. When Minseok’s breath had been gentle and even for several minutes, Luhan tapped a finger against his palm.

“Are you asleep?”

“Yep,” Minseok replied, sounding wide awake. He arched his back, stretching against the sheets, then opened his eyes. “I guess under the covers would be a good idea, huh?”

“Yeah.” Luhan sat up. “Is there a bathroom up here?”

“Just the other side of the stairs. Hey-” he stopped, and Luhan paused halfway to the door to turn and look at him.

“What’s up?”

“Uh, while you’re up,” Minseok waved a vague hand in Luhan’s direction, “do you think you could maybe run downstairs and grab something for me? In the bathroom by the kitchen, it’s one of those little days-of-the-week cases. On the counter, bright green, can’t miss it.”

Luhan smiled. “No problem.”

He disposed of the condom and washed his hands in the upstairs bathroom, then trotted down the stairs. In the little bathroom off the kitchen, he located the case Minseok meant - a pillbox divided in seven, the plastic fluorescent green and translucent enough to show a slightly alarming number of pills in each compartment. Luhan’s heart gave a little clench - what the hell could all these possibly be for? - but he decided not to dwell on it. It was Minseok’s business, not his. For all Luhan knew, they could be vitamin supplements.

He filled a glass with water from the fridge, turned out the kitchen and dining lights, and crept back upstairs to the bedroom.

“Here,” he murmured, setting the case and glass down on the bedside table nearest Minseok, who had stripped off his tank top and was using it to wipe the last traces of sweat from his chest. “That’s the one you meant, right?”

“Yeah, perfect. Thanks.” Minseok gave him a grateful smile as he took the pill case. He flicked open the day’s compartment, tipped the pills into his palm, and took them a couple at a time in between swigs of water. He took a mouthful to wash the last of them down, then held out the half-empty glass to Luhan.

“Do you need some?”

Luhan hesitated, then nodded, took the glass and drank as Minseok shuffled back and slid under the covers.

“Gotta keep hydrated,” Minseok said, hands behind his head. “You gonna get in here, or what?”

“Uh, yeah.” Luhan climbed in next to Minseok and lay down a careful distance from him.

“Oh, come on, shy boy.” Minseok slid an arm under Luhan’s shoulders and hauled him onto his side. “Snuggle it up.” He pulled Luhan towards him, gentle but persuasive, his hand at Luhan’s back allowing no resistance. Luhan let himself be pulled, shuffling forward until his head was pillowed on Minseok’s bare chest.

“There we go,” Minseok murmured. “That’s more like it.” His hand came to rest on the back of Luhan’s head, and after a moment began scratching through his hair. “You comfy?”

Luhan nodded and wriggled closer to let his arm drape low across Minseok’s waist. Minseok was warm and soft, his chest an inky pillow, and if Luhan held his breath and listened really hard he could hear Minseok’s heart beating on the other side. Minseok’s hands were in his hair and at the curve of his shoulder, his fingers slow and undemanding, as if the feel of Luhan’s skin were a reward all in itself. Luhan closed his eyes and let himself sink into the sensation of Minseok’s touch.

-

It was the birds that woke him. One second Luhan was skimming across the ocean on invisible wings, and the next he was blinking his eyes open to a chorus of chirps outside the window.

He took a minute to remind himself where he was - Minseok’s house, upstairs in the huge, white bed, having stayed the night - and then another to work out which limbs belonged to him.

Minseok seemed to be spooned up behind him, with an arm slung across Luhan’s hips and his leg pressed along the curve of Luhan’s butt. He had his face squashed against Luhan’s shoulder blade, and once Luhan tuned into that he realised he could feel the gentle puff of Minseok’s breath across his arm. Luhan shifted a hand, felt the edge of the bed in front of him, and grinned internally. They’d fallen asleep on the other side of the bed. Luhan must have shifted away during the night, and Minseok had chased him across the mattress.

Reluctant as he was to disturb Minseok with the light still so pale outside, Luhan’s legs were begging to be stretched. One at a time he carefully straightened them, arching his back as much as he thought he could without jostling Minseok. As his spine popped into order, though, his butt suddenly connected with Minseok’s crotch. 

Luhan crunched forward with an instant flush of heat across his cheeks. He wasn’t quite sure what the etiquette was upon waking up in someone else’s bed, but he was fairly confident that rubbing his ass all over their dick before they were even awake was a little inappropriate.

There was a sleepy mumble from behind him, and Minseok’s hand twitched on his hip. A second later they were crotch-to-butt again as Minseok stretched. Luhan cringed, but Minseok seemed not to notice, his mouth open against Luhan’s shoulder in a barely stifled yawn.

“Morning,” he sighed.

“Good morning.” Luhan shifted his hand to rub a thumb over Minseok’s wrist by way of greeting, then pillowed his hands back under his head.

“What time is it?”

“No idea.” Luhan squinted at the window. It was impossible to tell whether the sky was pre-dawn or just cloudy. “Early, I think.”

Minseok grunted a response and shoved his face back into Luhan’s shoulder. Luhan thought he read a pretty clear I’m-going-back-to-sleep message in that, but then Minseok’s hand twitched on his hip and his fingers began walking slowly back and forth. Luhan wondered whether Minseok might be trying to get frisky, but after a minute or two he was still walking the same circular path around Luhan’s hipbone. He didn’t seem inclined to move any further south; it seemed he was happy playing his fingers across Luhan’s stomach.

Were it not for the constant movement of Minseok’s fingers, Luhan would almost think he had fallen asleep again. His breath was slow and even on the back of Luhan’s neck, and aside from his hand, the rest of him was completely still.

In the meditative silence of the room, Luhan’s stomach gave a loud growl.

Minseok’s hand stilled, and he smirked into Luhan’s shoulder. “I guess it’s time to get up, huh?”

“I… would not say no to breakfast.”

Minseok chuckled. “I can arrange that.”

They sat up, and Luhan located his boxers and jeans at the foot of the bed. His shirt was not immediately forthcoming - it was somewhere under the covers, presumably, or had fallen down behind the headboard - but with the appreciative look Minseok gave his bare chest, Luhan decided he could look for it later. He hoisted Minseok into his arms and carried him down to the kitchen.

“Okay,” Minseok said, as he grabbed his pants from the floor and sat down in his wheelchair to pull them on. “I vote coffee. And toast. But coffee first.”

“Sounds good to me.”

There was something pleasing about this, Luhan thought - the two of them side-by-side at the kitchen counter, Minseok tamping and loading shots while Luhan measured milk into the steaming jug. With the heavy kitchen door closed against the draft from the hallway, the house didn’t feel as huge and empty as usual. The two of them seemed to fill the space.

As Minseok finished steaming the milk, Luhan slipped past him into the alcove leading to the bathroom.

“Back in a sec, I really gotta pee.”

“No worries.” Minseok threw a smile over his shoulder and slid a cup towards himself to begin pouring milk as the door closed.

Once he’d finished washing his hands, Luhan splashed a handful of water over his face and then, on a thought was that at least fifty percent vanity, opened the cabinet in search of mouthwash. The bottle he found had only a tiny amount left in it, so instead he squeezed a dollop of Minseok’s toothpaste onto his finger and brushed his teeth with that.

It was as he was scratching the sleepy fuzz off his bottom teeth that he heard a shout that made him jump almost out of his skin. It wasn’t that the voice was an unfamiliar one that scared him, or that it was calling Minseok’s name.

It was the fact that it seemed to be coming from upstairs.

Luhan clutched his chest and doubled over the sink to cough out a lungful of toothpaste. The voice gave another yell and began to thunder down the stairs. Luhan quickly rinsed his mouth and sluiced the water off his face, then slid the door open and stepped out into the alcove just as the kitchen door banged against the wall.

“ _Minseok!_ ”

“Good morning.” Minseok, now sitting at the counter, swivelled on the barstool to raise an eyebrow at the newcomer. 

“Did you sleep upstairs?”

“You entered my house surprisingly quietly,” Minseok continued, “and without saying hello.”

“I thought you’d still be asleep.” Even just from the back of his head, Luhan could tell the new guy thought this was beside the point. “You slept upstairs!”

“That is still my bedroom, isn’t it? I noticed you changed the sheets.”

“Minseok, you haven’t even _been_ upstairs in three years, wh-”

“That is categorically untrue.”

“Okay, you’ve been up _once_. What happened, what made you sleep up there now?”

In the next second, three things happened at once: the new guy looked down at the counter, where there was an extra coffee cup sitting next to Minseok’s; Minseok looked up and met Luhan’s eyes over the new guy’s shoulder; and Luhan had a split second in which to feel absolute horror as the new guy noticed the direction of Minseok’s gaze and began to turn around.

They stared at each other for a moment. Luhan was suddenly very aware of his bare chest, and resisted the urge to cross his arms.

“Um.” The new guy - young, bespectacled, and improbably cute - seemed to struggle for words. “Who the fuck is this?”

“This is Luhan.” Minseok picked up his coffee and took a sip, seeming completely unfazed by this confrontation. “He’s a friend from the old days.”

Spectacles curled a lip. “Yeah, right. How old are you, kid?”

“Uh…” Luhan swallowed. “Twenty-one?”

Over Spectacles’ shoulder, Minseok gave a little jerk, wiped a trickle of coffee from his chin and quickly picked up his mug again, the picture of nonchalance as Spectacles rounded on him again.

“Yeah, bullshit he’s from the old days.” Spectacles flung a hand in Luhan’s direction. “Minseok, you’re fucking a child!”

“Jongdae.” That eyebrow was back, sardonic and unbothered in Spectacles’ direction. “What’s half of twenty-eight?”

“Uh.” Spectacles - Jongdae - paused. “Fourteen. Wh-”

“Add seven.”

“Twenty-one? Min-”

“So we’re fine.” Minseok shrugged. “Besides, I’m not fucking him.”

There was a moment of collective disbelief. Luhan was standing here shirtless in Minseok’s kitchen and he was really going to pretend-

“He’s fucking me.”

Luhan let out an incredulous laugh and caught the sparkle in Minseok’s eye as Jongdae threw his hands in the air.

“Oh my god. I give up.”

“Relax. Have coffee.” Minseok nodded towards the espresso machine. “Are you gonna do some shopping for me today? Cause I need condoms.”

“For fuck’s sake, Minseok-”

“That’s generally what they’re for, yeah.”

Jongdae slumped down on the second barstool and dropped his head into his hands with a groan. Minseok just laughed and patted him on the back, winking at Luhan, and nodded towards his coffee until Luhan peeled himself out of the alcove and tiptoed across the kitchen to the counter.

“It is nice to meet you, I should say,” Jongdae said, as he lifted his face out of his hands. “Sorry, I’m just a little… surprised. I’m Kim Jongdae, by the way.”

“Oh yeah!” Minseok gestured between them. “Luhan, this is Jongdae, my second cousin and default best friend. He comes over sometimes to help me clean in hard-to-reach places - like the entire upper floor of my house.”

Jongdae gave him an indignant glare. “Are you really still doing the _second_ cousin thing? You know you can just call me your cousin, right?”

“Well, if you were my cousin then I’d feel a little guilty about not meeting you until I was like twenty.” Minseok smirked. “You’re just a distant relative. My conscience is clear.”

Jongdae sighed, long-suffering. Luhan sensed this was a conversation they had had before. Judging by the glint in Minseok’s eyes, it was a conversation they would probably have again.

-

Having left Minseok and Jongdae to their coffee and skirted the morning traffic on the cycle path down into the city, Luhan was at the rink and strapping his pads on before most of the others would even be out of bed. Nevertheless, when he arrived Yixing was already rolling up the side doors to let the sun into the warehouse.

“Morning, Xing!”

“Lu!” Yixing finished winding up the last door and switched off the control box. “You’re here early today.”

“So are you,” Luhan pointed out.

Yixing just grinned. “I’ve got nowhere better to be.”

Luhan snorted. “And you think I have?”

“Hmm.” Yixing raised an eyebrow. “How about Minseok’s house?”

The heat must have shown in Luhan’s cheeks, because Yixing just turned away with a sigh.

“One day you’re going to tell me how you managed to drag him out of retirement.” He glanced over his shoulder at Luhan as he headed back to the corner office. “God knows I’ve been trying for years. How the hell did you get him back to the rink?”

Twenty-four hours ago, Luhan would have made a quip about it being something to do with his sweet ass. Now he just shrugged, head ducked to hide his guilty blush as he followed Yixing into the warehouse.

With the entire rink to himself, Luhan launched straight into a vert run, trying to apply the techniques he’d observed in Minseok’s videos. He fell on his head a couple of times - including one truly terrifying moment of upside-down air kedidi, his legs bicycling frantically as he tried to right himself before he hit the floor - but by the time the others started trickling into the rink, he thought he just about had it right.

“Yo, nice!” Kris skated up alongside him as he landed an only slightly wobbly 900. “When did you learn that one? You’re like… not falling on your face.”

“I love how everyone has so much faith in me,” Luhan muttered, with a smack to Kris’s arm.

Kris just laughed and swerved in front of Luhan, skating backwards to look at him. 

“Where were you yesterday, dude? I didn’t see you all day.”

Luhan’s brain stalled for a moment. Somehow _illegally riding a motorbike without a license and then fucking a former world champion_ didn’t seem like the right answer.

“I had a twenty-four-hour ban,” he said finally.

“Bruh. Did you fight Chanyeol too?” Kris jerked his head towards the top of the half-pipe, where Baekhyun was perched precariously in Chanyeol’s lap and engaged in some rather vigorous face-sucking. “High five!”

Luhan rolled his eyes. “I swear you just antagonise him for fun.”

“Uh, yeah?” Kris shrugged. “Why else would I do it?”

“Why can’t you- oh dude, watch out-” Luhan steered Kris out of the way of one of the new kids, a gangly teenager wobbling his way out away from the side rail as if for the first time. “Why can’t the two of you just make an effort to get along?”

“We do get along.” Kris looked surprised. “Chanyeol’s my best friend, man.”

“Your _what_?” Luhan gaped. “Wait, are you serious? No way, you guys legit hate each other.”

Kris snorted with laughter. “Channie and I have literally known each other since we were in diapers. He’s my best bro.”

“Then why are you always at each other’s throats?”

Kris shrugged and glanced over his shoulder to judge the jump up onto the bar. “Cause it’s fun? And cause apparently Baek really gets off on seeing Chanyeol knock people around. I mean, not my kink, but if I can help a bro out…” he trailed off and turned back around in time to jump the ramp.

Luhan shook his head in astonishment and peeled off to take another run at the bigger ramp. He threw himself into a 900 with all the confidence he could muster, putting every ounce of his momentum into the spin to try and get all the way around before he landed… 

He touched down unevenly, his body not quite over his skates as they hit the ground, but he didn’t fall and managed to regain his balance with only half a heart attack. It was shaky, he thought, but there. Shaky, but there.

He skated over to the side, jumped the railing, and grabbed his water bottle from the side pocket of his bag. As he drank, he fished his phone out of his jacket to check the time and saw that he had a text waiting. He unlocked his phone, opened his inbox, and sprayed a mouthful of water all over the seat in front of him.

_From: Minseok_ _  
_ _u fucked me so hard last night i can’t walk_

Luhan spluttered and smacked a fist against his chest to try and dislodge the water from his lungs. Despite the instant flush in his cheeks, though, there was a swell of pride bubbling up under his heart at the thought that - 

Wait.

Luhan slapped a hand to his forehead.

_To: Minseok_ _  
_ _omfg_

_From: Minseok_ _  
_ _;P_

_From: Minseok_ _  
_ _get it?_

_To: Minseok_ _  
_ _yes i get it you one legged asshole_

_From: Minseok_ _  
_ _i think i’m hilarious ^-^_

_To: Minseok_ _  
_ _are you going to do… stand up comedy?_

Minseok’s next text was a string of emojis, half of them crying with laughter and the rest just crying. Luhan snorted and tucked his phone back into his jacket. With a grin and a last swig of water, he vaulted the railing and returned to the rink.

-

The next morning, when Luhan arrived at Minseok’s house, he rang the doorbell and waited for the buzz of the intercom. After a full minute of silence, he rang again, but there was still no answer. Had Minseok gone out? Luhan frowned. He couldn’t have - he had texted Luhan just last night telling him to come over in the morning. He would have let him know if his plans had changed.

Just as Luhan was about to turn and head back down the driveway, he heard the _clunk_ of the deadbolt being drawn back. The door cracked, then swung open, and there stood Minseok, squinting at him in the morning light.

“Oh,” he mumbled. “It’s you.”

In a loose T-shirt and boxers, his hair a bird’s nest and eyes barely open, Minseok had clearly only just dragged himself out of bed. He blinked at Luhan as if he couldn’t quite rationalise his presence.

“Oh my god, did I wake you up?” Luhan grimaced guiltily as Minseok nodded. “Sorry, I’ll go, I can come back later-”

“Don’t be an idiot.” Minseok turned and began hopping back down the hallway, leaving the door open. Luhan tiptoed in and closed it behind him, then followed Minseok down the hall. Instead of going all the way to the end, though, Minseok turned through the second door, between the garage and the kitchen at the end. Luhan paused, then approached the doorway.

“This is where I normally sleep,” Minseok muttered, hopping over to the dresser by the window and pulling open a drawer. “When I don’t have someone to carry my lazy ass up the stairs, that is.”

Luhan looked around the room. This was more like it, he thought; this was the kind of room he would have expected Minseok to have. No white linen and spotless surfaces here. The sheets on the single bed were a splattered print of black, red and purple, nested with a small mountain of pillows and - Luhan noted with amusement - the peeking faces of at least three teddy bears. The bedside table held Minseok’s phone, a pair of headphones, and, among various odds and ends, a couple of photo frames. Luhan took a surreptitious step closer to peer at the photos. In the first, he recognised nineteen-year-old Minseok and Yixing, standing in front of the rink with their arms linked and beaming smiles on their faces. The second picture was of a similarly-aged Minseok sitting beside a younger boy with a truly shocking amount of hair gel and the nerdiest glasses Luhan had ever seen - Jongdae, he realised with a barely repressed snort of laughter.

“Have you had breakfast?”

Luhan turned around and found Minseok dressed and in his wheelchair, pushing himself towards the bedroom door.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Cool. I haven’t.” Minseok lifted a hand from his wheel to stifle a yawn. “You get to watch me dezombify.”

“Coffee?” Luhan suggested as he followed him into the kitchen.

“Yes please.”

Luhan laughed and went to get the milk from the fridge.

Minseok seemed to wake up about halfway through his bowl of cereal, and by the time they finished their coffee he was positively chipper.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested as he hopped over to the sink with the empty mugs.

“A walk?” Luhan couldn’t help glancing down at Minseok’s leg.

“Oh shut up, I still talk like every other human being.” Minseok pretended to throw a spoon at him. “Cheeky bastard.”

He rinsed the mugs and left them on the bench, then hopped back to his wheelchair. Luhan slid off his barstool and followed him back to the little bedroom off the hall.

“Where the fuck did I put my gloves?” Minseok muttered, parking himself in the middle of the room and doing a visual 360. “This is what I get for not going out enough.”

“Gloves?” Luhan glanced around.

“Yeah, they’re- aha!” Minseok stood up and pushed a stack of papers aside on top of the dresser, then grabbed a pair of black fingerless gloves from underneath them. “Bingo. They need a fuckin’ wash, whatever, I don’t care.” He slipped them on and strapped the velcro over the back of his hands. “Alright, leggo.”

Luhan led the way down the hall and pulled open the front door, then stopped as Minseok gave a snort behind him.

“Three guesses why that’s not going to work.”

Luhan smacked himself in the forehead and pushed the door closed again.

“Yep. Just remembered. Sorry.”

Minseok just laughed and rolled down into the garage.

“I really need to get a ramp put in,” he said as he picked up the remote and opened the roller door. “But I’m cheap and lazy.”

Minseok seemed to have a route in mind; as they reached the bottom of the driveway he turned a decisive right and set off along the sidewalk towards the centre of the development. They walked in silence for several minutes, Minseok seemingly content with the background chirping of the birds and the whir of his wheels. As they turned a third corner, Luhan plucked up the courage to ask the question that had been on his mind for the past day.

“So, uh…”

Minseok glanced back at him. “What’s up?”

“Jongdae said… or you said… you’d only been upstairs once? Since, uh…”

“Oh yeah.” Minseok looked back at the pavement in front of him. “Yeah, it turns out stairs and I aren’t such good friends these days.”

Luhan stayed silent, hoping Minseok would elaborate on that. After a moment, with a sigh, he did.

“So after my accident, it was a good few months before I could even get out of a wheelchair, right? So after they sent me home from the hospital, it obviously made more sense for me to sleep downstairs rather than people having to carry me up and down every day. But, uh, when I could get in and out of my chair by myself, and hop around and stuff, we thought it would be a good idea for me to try going up and down the stairs, so that I could sleep in my actual bedroom again.”

He paused and glanced over his shoulder, as if to make sure that Luhan was still listening.

“So Yixing and Jongdae came over - or Yixing came over, I should say, Jongdae was still my live-in nurse at that point - and they helped me up the stairs. One stair at a time. Hop, balance, rest, hop. It took ten minutes to get to the top.” He paused, smiled, shook his head a little. “I went straight into the bedroom and threw myself on the bed. I’d been sleeping on the shitty spare bed that used to be in that little room, and I fucking missed my bed, right? And we all just hung out in there, lying around and talking and laughing and waiting for me to have the energy to go back down, cause I was fucking exhausted. And then after about an hour we went back downstairs.”

That sounded like a fairly good experience to Luhan, and he wondered why Minseok hadn’t gone upstairs since. Then he realised that the story wasn’t finished.

“The next day, I tried going up by myself.”

Despite Minseok’s casual tone, Luhan’s stomach began to sink.

“I tripped halfway up. Hit my face on the edge of a stair. Have you ever broken your nose?” He looked up at Luhan, who shook his head. “Lots of blood. Lots. It felt like it was more than- I mean.” He paused and seemed to shake himself. “I think I blacked out a bit? Like, I dunno if it was from the impact or the pain or just the sight of all that blood, but when I came around there was just a fucktonne of blood and I couldn’t get up cause my hands were shaking and it felt like I was gonna pass out _again_ , so I had to shuffle back downstairs on my butt to find my phone and call Jongdae, cause he was out shopping, and he freaked out and then it was back in the hospital to make sure I hadn’t concussed myself and fuck, man, realigning a nose hurts more than breaking it in the first place-” he blew out a breath and shook his head. “So. No more stairs for me.”

Luhan blinked to clear the sparkles at the edge of his vision. Just hearing about it made him feel sick to his stomach; it wasn’t hard to imagine how an experience like that could put Minseok off stairs forever.

“So you just stayed downstairs,” he murmured.

“Yep!” Minseok gave an extra hard push to his wheels and zoomed forward. “Got Jongdae to move the rest of my shit down, bought a new mattress for the spare bed, and that’s where I’ve been ever since.”

“Until-”

“Until you swept me off my foot and carried me upstairs to deflower me.” Minseok gave a crooked little smirk.

Luhan’s brain was still reeling, though. Minseok hadn’t been up those stairs in three years, yet he hadn’t even hesitated to suggest it when Luhan had asked where they should go.

“Weren’t you… I dunno, wasn’t it weird? Going up again after so long?”

“Well.” Minseok’s smirk turned into a full grin. “I imagine it probably would have been, if I’d bothered to think about it. I was more concerned with finding a flat surface to fuck on.”

Luhan laughed, but he couldn’t quite shake the feeling of significance around the whole thing, even if Minseok brushed it off like it was nothing. It must have been a pretty traumatic fall to keep him from going upstairs for three years, and to go so willingly in Luhan’s arms was no small thing. Luhan couldn’t help but feel that he had been part of something quietly momentous.

“Aww yes, it’s still here.”

Luhan snapped out of his reverie to see that they had arrived at a park. The children’s playground in the middle was bordered on one side by trees and grass, and on the other by a concrete basketball court with a slightly dilapidated tennis net strung across the middle. Minseok wheeled himself across the grass to the rubber tiling of the playground and parked his wheelchair next to the swings.

“I was worried they were gonna tear this all down,” he said, hoisting himself out of his chair and into a swing, “cause last time I came past it was all a construction site. But I think they were just replacing the bark chip with this rubber shit. Good of them, really - mulched up tree bits aren’t particularly wheelchair-friendly.” He kicked himself back and began to swing.

Luhan watched him for a minute, then wandered over and took the swing next to him. They swung in companionable silence, Luhan kicking off harder and harder to match Minseok’s pace until they were both flying through the air, the chains of the swings going almost slack at the top of their arc.

What a strange pair they must make, Luhan thought, to anyone who happened to walk down the street and see them: Luhan in his ripped jeans and Doc Martens, Minseok swinging his one sneakered foot underneath him, wisps of purple hair escaping from under his perpetual beanie. When Luhan glanced over, Minseok’s mouth was open in half a grin, eyes fixed on the ground as he kicked off and the sky as he soared.

“I dare you to jump,” Minseok said, on a particularly high upswing.

“I dare you first.”

Minseok laughed. “I am categorically _not_ going to do that.”

Luhan grinned and let his feet hang to drag against the ground. By degrees he slowed, and when he was only about a metre off the ground at the apex of his arc he slid out of the seat and jumped to the ground.

“Weak,” Minseok snorted, still soaring high above Luhan’s head.

“Let’s see you do better, then.”

Minseok smirked down at him. “I’d rather not break my leg. I’ve only got one, you know.”

Luhan rolled his eyes and waited, amused, for Minseok to slow down enough to hop off at a height of perhaps half a metre. He toppled over anyway, Shorty waving frantically underneath him as he tried and failed to catch his balance.

“Ah, whatever,” he sighed, rolling over to look up at the sky. “You win.”

Luhan snickered and reached down to pull him upright so he could hop back to his chair. Minseok straightened his beanie and released his brakes, then turned himself in the direction of the basketball court.

“Now, I could be wrong,” he said, “but I’m pretty sure I saw a ball in there just now.”

He reached through the gate to lift the latch and let it swing open with a squeal of hinges. On the flat court, without divots in the grass or stray bark chips underwheel, he gave himself a push and raised his arms to freewheel across the concrete.

“Yesss!” He scooped up an abandoned basketball from the far corner of the court and lobbed it towards Luhan. “You play?”

“Not for about five years,” Luhan admitted.

“Same. I used to play with the local kids here on the weekends. I was that weird older guy their parents always warned them about.” He paused while Luhan took a shot at the hoop, then caught the ball as it bounced off the backboard and leaned forward to dribble it on the ground. “I was on my high school’s A team, though.” He used his foot to push himself backwards towards the tennis net halfway down the court. “One time we were playing a semifinal game, three seconds left on the clock, two points down, and I had the ball at the halfway line. There were all these fucking seven-foot goons up in my face, and I was the shortest guy on my team, right? I mean, obviously. But I could jump. _Goddamn_ , could I jump. Like, almost my entire height. And so the clock was ticking down, and we were about to lose, so I was like ‘fuck it’, and I jumped, and I took the shot from halfway down the court.” He raised the ball and aimed as if to shoot it at the hoop. “Most tense moment of my high school basketball career. It hit the hoop, rolled around the rim…” he paused.

Luhan was almost holding his breath. “And?”

“And it went out.” Minseok smirked at him. “We lost. Shit happens.”

He shot, and the ball bounced against the rim before dropping neatly through.

“ _What?_ ” Minseok’s jaw hit the floor. “What the fuck? Are you serious?” He smacked both hands over his face. “Where was that shot _ten years ago?_ ”

Luhan doubled over and laughed until his stomach hurt, until he was nearly crying, hysterical with glee as Minseok gaped incredulously at the hoop.

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Minseok scowled. “Fuckin’ laugh it up.”

“Your _face_ ,” Luhan giggled.

Minseok picked up the ball as it rolled towards him. “Let’s see what you’ve got, then, smart-ass.” He threw the ball at Luhan and positioned himself between him and the hoop. “Why don’t you just try and get it past me?”

It was a challenge, and Luhan met it with a snort. He dribbled the ball towards Minseok, who had his hands on his wheels as if he were realistically agile enough to cut Luhan off should he dodge sideways.

As Luhan raised the ball to shoot, though, Minseok reached out and smacked it straight out of his hands. Dropping it into his lap, he turned and took off towards the hoop.

“Travelling!” Luhan yelled, running after him. “Travelling, you cheater!”

“ _I am in a wheelchair!_ ”

Still laughing, Luhan leaped in front of Minseok and caught the ball as he tried to shoot it.

“You have an unfair height advantage,” Minseok pointed out.

“I thought you could jump your entire height,” Luhan snickered, and turned to take the shot himself. Before he could even raise the ball halfway, though, Minseok grabbed the back of his jeans and tugged him backwards. The shot went so wide that the ball ricocheted off the edge of the backboard and skittered away into the corner.

“Cheat!” Luhan cried as Minseok wrapped an arm around his waist and hauled him into his lap. “You play dirty!”

“Yeah, I do.” Minseok turned Luhan’s head with a hand on his cheek and kissed him. It was more laughter than lips, their teeth clicking together as they giggled into each other. Luhan was half on Minseok’s leg and half falling onto the ground as the wheelchair began to roll backwards, so Minseok reached down to put his brakes on, then scooped Luhan properly into his lap so that his legs were dangling over one wheel. He slid his hands into Luhan’s hair and kissed him again, more seriously this time, his eyelashes flickering against the side of Luhan’s nose, teeth nipping at his bottom lip.

This felt different, kissing Minseok without the implication of sex. Sweeter, somehow - more deliberate, the way he pressed into Luhan’s mouth. Luhan closed his eyes and let himself melt.

It was almost five minutes before Minseok pulled away to rest his forehead against Luhan’s nose. Luhan pecked another kiss to the tip of his nose, and Minseok gave a little huff of laughter.

“Do you want to go somewhere with me?” Minseok murmured.

 _Anywhere_ , Luhan thought, but he just nodded and watched Minseok’s smile dimple into his cheeks.

-

They drove to the other side of the city, past Yixing’s warehouse rink and through the industrial district to the far edge between city and suburb. Minseok parked in a disabled space and hauled his wheelchair out of the back of the van, then nodded towards the shop in front of them.

“You wanna get the door for me?”

As Minseok maneuvered himself through the doorway, Luhan looked up at the sign above them: in plain, unembellished letters, _Street Inc_. There were no other decorations, no window displays - just black on silver, as if the name itself were all the advertisement the shop could need.

The inside of the establishment was a totally different story.

Brightly lit, with the sun streaming through the high windows and rendering the fluorescent lights nearly redundant, the shop was filled wall-to-wall with racks of merchandise - shirts, hoodies, hats, bags - in varying shades and styles, all bearing the kind of snarky slogans that Luhan thought could have come directly out of Minseok’s mouth. With punk rock on low over the speakers and an underlying smell of apple cut through with antiseptic, Luhan came to the slightly unsettling realisation that if Minseok were a room, he would be this one.

Minseok put on the brakes and stood from his chair to lean over the waist-high counter where a young man sat reading, his bright red hair hanging over one eye as he chewed absent-mindedly at the silver bar pierced vertically through his bottom lip.

“Hey, dude,” Minseok said. “Is Tao in?”

The man looked up from his book. He seemed surprised - but then, Luhan thought, that might just have been his eyes. He looked Minseok up and down, then nodded and turned in his seat.

“Tao!” he yelled towards the wall behind him. “Client for you!”

There was an answering shout from the other side of the wall, and a moment later a head appeared around the corner. Bleached hair, undercut, three diamond dermal piercings in a row up his cheek - this, evidently, was Tao.

“What can I do for yo- _Minseok?_ ”

Minseok gave a little salute. “What up.”

“Dude, what the fuck, bring it in.”

Tao leaned over the counter to give Minseok a one-armed hug, pounding him on the back with his other hand. As tall as Minseok was short, he practically dragged Minseok off the floor with the force of his embrace.

“Where the hell have you been for the last, what, three years?”

“I’ve been around.” Minseok clapped Tao on the shoulder and pointed to Luhan. “This is Luhan, he’s a skating friend of mine. Lu, this is Huang Zitao. Best fucking artist I’ve ever met, you would not believe the shit he can do with a needle.”

“Nice to meet you,” Luhan said.

Tao held out his hand for Luhan to shake. “Likewise.” He turned back to Minseok. “So what can I do for you?”

“I was wondering.” Minseok’s mouth gave a little twist. “You know how you never ever do the same design twice, like, _ever_?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I was wondering if you could maybe make an exception to that for the wave piece you did on my leg.”

Tao’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Um. Why?”

“Cause it’s fucking gone.”

“What do you mean, it’s gone?” Tao leaned over the counter to peer down at Minseok’s leg, then jumped and staggered backwards. “ _Holy fuck, what happened to you?_ ”

Minseok shrugged. “Tiger attack?”

Tao clapped a hand to his forehead and slumped back against the wall behind him, then turned and pounded a fist on it.

“ _SEHUN! I AM DISTRESSED!_ ”

A door opened around the far corner of the wall and a rainbow appeared, closely followed by the man out of whose head it was growing.

“What’s wrong?” He noticed Minseok and gave him a wave. “Oh, hey Minseok. How’s it going?”

“Leg!” Tao whisper-shrieked, pointing at Minseok. “ _Leg!!_ ”

“Leg?” Sehun frowned and stepped around the counter. “Woah! Dude! Did you get bitten by a shark or something?”

“Yep!” Minseok held out a fist for Sehun to bump. “Finally got rid of the broccoli hair, huh?”

Sehun pulled a face. “Don’t remind me.”

“Okay,” Tao declared. “Okay. I’m recovered. Yes, I can definitely do that piece again for you.”

“I was so hoping you would say that,” Minseok said. “I only had it for about two weeks, it didn’t even get a chance to heal properly.”

“Seriously,” Tao frowned, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside the guy with the red hair. “What the fuck happened? Soo, is my book over there?”

“Yep.” Soo leaned down under the counter and handed Tao a sketchbook. “You want me to block you out for a consult?”

“Sure.” Tao flipped open the book as Soo turned to the computer at the far end of counter. “Alright. Let’s see if we can recreate this.”

As Tao drew, Minseok told him the story of losing his leg. There were extra details in this retelling that Luhan hadn’t heard before - Minseok had been speeding; the other car had run a red light. Hearing Minseok talk about being dragged twenty metres across the intersection made Luhan’s stomach turn, so he turned away only to find Sehun sitting right beside him, staring intently at his face.

“Uh- hello.”

Sehun, still examining Luhan’s face, did not speak for a moment. Just as Luhan was about to say something, or perhaps shuffle awkwardly away from him, Sehun licked his lips.

“Let me poke holes in your face.”

“Uh-” Luhan shrank away. “What?”

“Can confirm,” Minseok called, glancing up from Tao’s drawing, “he’s good at poking holes in faces. And nipples.”

“And dicks,” Tao added.

“LU, GET YOUR DICK PIERCED.”

“I’M NOT GETTING MY DICK PIERCED.”

Sehun leaned across to hover in front of Luhan’s face. “You would look really good with a septum piercing.”

“What, in my nose?” Luhan cupped a protective hand over his face. “No way!”

“Hmm.” Sehun narrowed his eyes consideringly. “Do you have any piercings other than your ears, or is that it?”

“That’s it,” Minseok supplied.

Tao stopped drawing and raised an eyebrow at him.

“I mean, what?” Minseok rolled his shoulders. “Wow, it’s super hot in here.”

Tao snorted and went back to his sketchbook.

“Okay,” Sehun said. “So nothing too extreme, then. Helix?” He pinched the cartilage at the top of his own ear, between the two rings there. “Eyebrow, maybe.”

Luhan winced. “Do I have to do this?”

“No.” Sehun leaned back against the counter. “You don’t have to do anything, I’m not gonna hold you down and stab you. I mean. Not unless you want me to.” He winked.

“Alright,” Tao announced, dropping his pencil onto the counter. “If you’re happy with that, I’ll go pretty it up and then we’re good to go!” He leaned over to check the time on the computer. “Do you wanna do this now? My afternoon booking chickened out, so I’ve got a slot if you want it.”

“Fuck, sure.” Minseok slid down off his stool. “Do you want me to pay a deposit first? Or just pay it all after?”

“Pfft.” Tao waved a dismissive hand. “You know what? I’ve already got the other guy’s deposit for a four-hour booking, so I don’t even care. Half price for you, my man.”

“Are you serious? Dude!”

“Call it a touch-up!”

Tao disappeared into the back room with the sketchbook. As Luhan was about to turn to Minseok and ask him what the design looked like, Sehun stretched his arms over his head with an expansive yawn.

“Is it lunchtime yet?” He opened a heavily-graffitied minifridge at the end of the counter and pulled out several cans of Red Bull.

“Soo!”

“If you throw that at my head I’m throwing it right back at you,” Soo said. Sehun tossed the can to him, and he caught it without looking up from the computer.

“Minseok, you want one? Lu? Your name _is_ Lu, right?”

“Uh, yeah, it’s actually Luh-”

“Awesome. You want a drink?”

“Um.” Luhan glanced at Minseok. “Sure.”

Sehun smacked a can down in front of him, then rolled one along the counter towards Minseok, who rolled it right back.

“No thanks. You think I wanna be all jumpy while Tao’s tattooing me?”

“Hah.” Sehun clicked a finger at him. “Fair enough.”

Tao stuck his head around the corner. “Yo, Min, we’re good to go!”

“Aww yes.” Minseok slid off the stool and into his wheelchair. “Let’s fuckin’ do this.”

“Are you guys gonna come hang out in here?” Tao said to Sehun. “I’ll open up the room.”

“We’ve just opened drinks,” Sehun held up his can. “But go ahead and open it up, we’ll be in in a minute.”

Minseok followed Tao through into the back room, and Sehun turned back to Luhan.

“Okay seriously though, you have perfect ears.”

Luhan almost inhaled a mouthful of Red Bull.

“ _What?_ ”

“Your earlobes are begging for like two more studs each. Soo, wouldn’t he look great with a row of three in his earlobe?”

“I am not ganging up on customers with you, Sehun.”

Sehun sighed and rolled his eyes.

“I’m just saying. If you’ve ever thought about getting more piercings, I would be _delighted_ to bling you up.”

Luhan pursed his lips. He wasn’t really averse to the idea, he’d just never really considered it before.

After a moment of silence, Soo finally looked up from the computer.

“He is good at what he does,” he said. “If that’s what you’re worried about. He did this one for me-” he pointed at the vertical labret through his lip, “- and I’d still come to him for my next one even if I didn’t work here.”

“See?” Sehun pointed emphatically at Soo. “Even Kyungsoo likes me! And he’s a hard man to please!”

“When did I say I liked you?” Soo said, going back to his computer. “You’re just a good piercer.” As Sehun turned away to pout, he looked up and gave Luhan a wink.

Luhan ducked his head to think for a minute. He tried to imagine himself with more earrings. He couldn’t really picture it, but somehow he got the impression it would make him feel cooler. At the very least he would look more punk.

“You think I should get two more?”

Sehun nodded and raised his eyebrows over his can of Red Bull.

“Do you want to?”

Luhan shrugged. “Sure.”

“Awesome!” Sehun pumped a fist. “I would go with two more, just in one ear. It’s up to you.”

“That sounds good. Uh. How much does it cost?”

Sehun scratched his chin. “Hm. Depends. Usually fifty for one, eighty for two.”

“Oh.” Luhan’s heart sank. “That’s…”

“What’s your relationship to Minseok?” Sehun cut in.

Luhan bit his tongue.

“Um, he’s, uh- he’s my coach, and, uh-”

“And he knows exactly what piercings you do and do not have.” Sehun’s grin was slightly unsettling. “You’re a terrible liar, but at least you _try_ to keep his confidence. I’ll do both for forty. Come on.”

Sehun turned and strode off around the corner to his side of the back room. Luhan blinked after him, clutching his can weakly in one hand. He couldn’t help but feel like he’d just been given some sort of test.

“Yes,” Soo remarked from the other end of the counter, “he’s always like that. No, he will never change. Yes, you are his friend now. God help you.” As Luhan slid off his stool, Soo nodded at his Red Bull. “Leave that out here. No food or drink in the back.”

Luhan left the can on the counter and followed Sehun around the corner and through the door. He immediately saw what Tao had meant by “opening up” the room. The area closest to them was set up as a piercer’s studio - plastic drawers of individually wrapped needles and studs, a paper-covered bench, and a counter lined with various bottles of disinfectant. In the middle of the room was a sliding door which had been concertinaed back towards the wall, and on the other side was Tao’s tattoo studio, where Minseok was lying face-down on a similar bench. Tao’s walls were covered in pictures of artwork he had drawn and tattoos he had done, and between the boxes of inks and wipes on the counter were stacks of flash books. As Luhan entered Tao looked over his shoulder and grinned, nudging a pair of glasses up his nose.

“He convinced you, huh?”

“Yeah.” Luhan shrugged. “What am I gonna do, let Minseok be more punk than me?”

“I will always be more punk than you,” Minseok said. “You’ve got fifty tats and a surprise amputation to catch up on if you want to be as punk as me.”

“Is amputation a requirement for being punk?” Sehun wondered, sliding open drawers to find the right needle.

“No,” Minseok said, “but if you’re gonna have an amputation, a _surprise_ amputation is the punkest kind.”

Tao laughed and shook his head.

“Okay, you ready?”

“Hell fuckin’ yes.”

The machine on the rolling table next to Tao buzzed to life. With Tao sitting on the near side of the bench, Luhan couldn’t see the area he was tattooing, but he heard the sound change as the needle touched Minseok’s skin. Minseok didn’t even wince.

“Come choose your jewellery, dude,” Sehun said. “You want just plain studs?”

“Sure.” Luhan turned around to look at the array of plastic packets in the drawer Sehun had open.

Sehun pulled out four little pouches. “Gold or silver?”

“I vote gold,” Minseok called. “Silver’s boring.”

“Your earrings are literally all silver,” Tao muttered.

“That’s cause the rest of me is so interesting I’d explode if I put in a gold stud.”

Luhan snorted and turned back to Sehun. “Gold sounds good.”

“Sweet.” Sehun dropped two of the pouches back into the drawer and nudged it closed. “Sit down here, let’s do some placement.”

Luhan perched on the edge of the bench and Sehun tore open a disinfectant wipe.

“Which ear?”

“Mmm.” Luhan leaned sideways to see past Sehun into the mirror on the wall. “Right? No. Left.”

Sehun squinted at him. “Yeah, left. Works better with your hair.” He wiped Luhan’s earlobe with the disinfectant and picked up a pen. “I’m gonna do two dots and then you’re gonna look in the mirror and tell me if you like that placement.” He leaned in close to Luhan’s face and poked his ear with the marker, then stood back so Luhan could see himself in the mirror. “Does that look alright to you?”

“Looks good,” Luhan nodded, but Sehun rolled his eyes.

“Actually get up and have a look, dude. It’s your ear, you gotta be happy with where I’m putting them.”

Luhan slid off the bench and examined himself in the mirror. The dots followed his existing stud in a curve up his earlobe. Even just in black marker, Luhan thought they made him look about a thousand times cooler.

“I like that,” he said.

“Sweeeet.” Sehun pointed at the bench, and Luhan sat down again. “Now comes the fun part.”

For all that he wasn’t particularly scared of them, Luhan’s heart gave a little squeeze when Sehun tore open one of the packets and pulled out what seemed to him to be an unnecessarily long needle. He had to grip the edge of the bench, and he gritted his teeth as Sehun told him to breathe in, then breathe out-

And nothing happened.

“Aaand now let’s try that again without the barely-restrained panic. You wanna actually relax for me, dude?”

There was a chuckle from the other side of the room.

“Is he blushing? I bet he’s blushing.”

“Shut up!”

Minseok just laughed.

“One more time,” Sehun said. “Breathe in… Breathe out… there we go.”

“… _Ow_.”

“That’s one done,” Sehun said, threading the ball into the end of the stud. “We’re halfway there.”

The second stud was done in another twenty seconds, and Sehun stepped back to let Luhan see himself in the mirror as he gathered up the needles and dropped them in the sharps bin.

“Happy with that?”

Luhan hopped off the bench and stepped up to the mirror. In spite of the way his ear was beginning to turn bright red, he thought he looked pretty damn cool.

“Awesome,” he murmured.

“Good!” Sehun slapped him on the back. “I’m assuming you don’t need the aftercare talk. Soo can sell you some Studex if you need it.”

“Let me see,” Minseok said. Luhan turned around to face the tattoo bench, and Minseok whistled. “Yes, that’s my boy. You look great!”

Luhan couldn’t help beaming. Perhaps it had something to do with the words _my boy_. Perhaps it was also the fact that Minseok was shirtless and grinning at him like he wanted to eat him alive and savour every bite.

Tao paused his tattooing and wiped away the excess ink from Minseok’s back. Luhan wished he could see the design taking shape, but Tao was sitting between him and Minseok and Luhan didn’t want to cross the doorline and step into Tao’s space in case that was a violation of sacred tattoo etiquette or something. Instead he just hovered on Sehun’s side of the room, smiling back at Minseok.

“You can sit back down, you know,” Sehun said from the desk chair in the corner. “They’re gonna be a while.”

Luhan sat down on the bench, which Sehun had raised into a chair of sorts, and they chatted while Tao worked on Minseok. Soo periodically came to hover in the doorway, chipping into the conversation with quiet snark and dry wit.

Finally Tao gave Minseok’s skin a last wipe and sat back on his rolling stool.

“There we go,” he said. “I think you’re done.”

“Nice.” Minseok gave a thumbs-up. “Can I see?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Tao stood up and grabbed his phone from the counter. “I’ll take a picture. Luhan, you wanna take one too?”

“Sure.” Luhan pulled his phone out of his pocket and stepped forward, then stopped when he saw the tattoo. “ _Wow._ ”

Minseok craned his neck to try and look over his shoulder. “Does it look good?”

“Yeah,” Luhan murmured. “Yeah, it’s great.”

Waves swirled into wind across Minseok’s lower back. The black ink was shaded in blue, highlighted with white, sea spray whipping into the breeze over his spine. Above the water a little man flew through the air, his face raised towards an invisible sun, arms outstretched to catch the wind. Luhan looked closer; the man had only one leg.

He snapped a couple of pictures, then passed his phone to Minseok so he could see.

“Oh shit,” Minseok said, “that’s fucking awesome, Tao.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty pleased with it,” Tao said. “That’s going on my Instagram for sure.” He put his phone down and pulled on a fresh pair of gloves, then picked up a roll of Saniderm and began to measure it out against Minseok’s back.

“Don’t you dare name me in the post,” Minseok warned.

“Not if you don’t want me to,” Tao assured him.

“Half the world thinks I’m dead and the rest think I’m hiding out in China or something,” Minseok muttered as Tao peeled off the paper and smoothed the plastic out over his skin. “I’m super happy with no-one knowing I still live in the city.”

“Yeah, you kind of disappeared for a few years there.” Tao watched as Minseok sat up and gently pulled his shirt back on. “You’re coming out of your cave now, though?”

If Luhan hadn’t been watching, he might have missed the way Minseok’s eyes flicked towards him.

“Not sure. We’ll see.”

“Alright, well,” Tao helped Minseok down off the table and steadied his wheelchair, somewhat unnecessarily, as Minseok lowered himself back into it, “don’t be a stranger, okay? You’ve still got some blank skin left, and I call dibs on it.”

Minseok laughed. “My body is yours. At some point soon I’ll get you to fix up the fucking mess on my leg, if you’re up to it.”

Tao’s eyes widened. “Oh dude, you mean-?” he gestured towards Shorty. “Oh my god, yes. Yes. I’ll design something awesome for you. Come talk to me about it, we’ll get some ideas going-” he seemed honoured, almost touched, at the idea of tattooing Shorty.

At the front counter, Minseok handed Tao his credit card.

“Well, that only took us two hours,” Tao said, “Let’s call it a hundred and fifty bucks.”

Minseok raised his eyebrows, his eyes pointedly wide.

“I want to pay you fairly for your time, man,” he said.

“I am getting paid fairly,” Tao shrugged. “By the guy who tried to haggle with me on a design I spent a week drawing and then cancelled with less than an hour’s notice. I am _absolutely_ vindictive enough to put his money towards someone else’s piece.”

As he picked up the card reader, Minseok nodded towards Luhan.

“How much were Lu’s piercings?”

“Forty,” Sehun said.

“Put them on my card as well.”

Luhan frowned. “I can pay for them myself.”

“I owe you though,” Minseok said, and swiped his card through the machine.

How did _Minseok_ owe _him_ , Luhan wondered, thinking about late nights at the rink and hours of free coaching. Minseok seemed to consider the matter settled, though, and happily keyed in a forty percent tip for Tao.

“Typical,” Tao snorted as he pulled out the receipt and looked at the total. “Can’t just take the damn discount.”

Minseok beamed at him and rolled himself back from the counter.

“Thanks, Tao! I’ll come see you in a few weeks and we’ll talk designs for Shorty!”

Outside, Minseok loaded his wheelchair into the back of the van and hopped in behind the wheel.

“Holy fuck, this is uncomfortable,” he muttered the second time he glanced over his shoulder to change lanes. “I should have remembered what it’s like driving with a fresh back tattoo.”

Luhan grimaced. “Does it hurt?”

“I’ve just had a fuck load of ink carved into my skin and now it’s rubbing against the seat. What do you think?”

“Ouch.” Luhan squirmed sympathetically. “Is there anything you can do to make it hurt less?”

“Get home and take my shirt off,” Minseok smirked.

Sure enough, as soon as they were inside Minseok peeled off his shirt and threw it across the room.

“ _Freedom_.”

“Oh jeez.” Luhan eyed the tattoo as Minseok leaned forward in his chair. “There’s a lot of blood under the wrapping stuff.”

“Yeah, that happens.” Minseok sat back, then winced and shuffled forward again. “Particularly with colour. The Saniderm keeps it all in so it can do its job. And it’s really kind of morbidly fun to wash off in the morning.” He stretched his arms over his head and started down the hallway. “You wanna come sit in my room? I’m gonna lie down.”

Minseok stretched out on his stomach and Luhan perched next to him on the edge of the single bed. Carefully avoiding the entire lower half of his back, Luhan traced a finger over Minseok’s other tattoos while they talked.

“So how was yesterday with Jongdae?”

Minseok turned his head to rest his cheek more comfortably against the pillow. “It was good. We hung out and talked for a bit. Went to the supermarket together.” Minseok closed his eyes. “I gotta start doing my own groceries. I need to learn how to push a cart from my chair.”

Luhan gave a little hum, nodding absently as he traced the outline of the wings on Minseok’s shoulder blades - not bird wings or angel wings, but butterfly wings, so delicately shaded as to be almost translucent against Minseok’s skin.

“And of course, he gave me a nice lecture about sleeping with someone seven years younger than me.”

Luhan’s hand faltered halfway down one wing. After a moment of stillness, Minseok opened one eye to squint up at him.

Luhan swallowed. “What did he say?”

Minseok snorted. “Exactly what you’d expect. You’re too young, blah blah, I need to let you find someone your own age, yadda yadda, you don’t need me and all my baggage, etc etc etc-”

“You don’t have baggage,” Luhan said, surprised.

“ _Everyone_ has baggage,” Minseok said. “Also, hello? I’m a moody, horny old amputee. I have a metric _fucktonne_ of baggage.” He sighed and closed his eyes again. “Do you feel like I’m too old for you?”

“… No?”

“Cause _I_ don’t. I mean.” Minseok gave a wry little smile. “I will admit. I didn’t realise you were quite _that_ young.”

“How old did you think I was?”

Minseok shrugged. “I dunno, two or three years older. I figured you were about Jongdae’s age. You knew how old I was, yeah?”

“More or less.”

“Hm.” Minseok smirked. “Well, I don’t mind if you don’t. You just gotta put up with my senior moments.”

“Dude, you’re only twenty-eight.”

“Am I?” Minseok laughed. “I feel a lot older sometimes.”

They fell into silence as Luhan finished tracing the outline of Minseok’s wings. He moved on to the splash of watercolour falling back over Minseok’s shoulder, the edge of the explosion from Myeonggi’s whirl of colour.

“What did you do yesterday?” Minseok murmured.

“Went to the rink,” Luhan said. “I’m getting the hang of the 900. I landed it five times in a row, and I only fell on my face twice the whole day.”

“Awesome! You gotta show me that tonight.” There was another interlude of silence. Then Minseok, eyes still closed and face half buried in the pillow, said, “I’m proud of you, y’know. You’ve been working really hard.” He grinned. “I think you’re gonna absolutely crush it at _East Xtreme_.”

Luhan could feel the blush heating through his cheeks, but he managed to dig his voice out of his throat to murmur, “Thank you.”

Minseok just smiled and reached up to take Luhan’s hand on his shoulder and give it a squeeze.

-

After dinner that night, as they were getting ready to leave for the rink, they hit a snag.

“Driving,” Minseok said.

“What?” Halfway into the van, Luhan turned to look at him.

“I really don’t want to rub my tattoo all over that seat again. My wheelchair’s bad enough.”

“Why don’t I drive?” Luhan offered. “You can sit more comfortably in the passenger seat.”

“I’m still gonna end up rubbing it on the seat,” Minseok wrinkled his nose. “Dammit. I might have to let you go on your own. _Dammit!_ I was really hoping to see you land that 900.”

Luhan pursed his lips and considered for a second.

“I’ve got an idea,” he said.

“What is it?”

Minseok followed Luhan’s gaze and narrowed his eyes.

“You’re trying to give Yixing a heart attack, aren’t you?”

Sure enough, when Yixing came to the door of the warehouse and found Luhan cutting the power of Minseok’s huge bike, he shrieked and stumbled to the ground with one hand over his mouth.

“ _What the hell is this?_ ”

“Hey, Xingy Xing!” Minseok pulled off his helmet and handed it to Luhan to lock onto the side of the bike. “Remember that time you rebuilt my bike for me? You did a good job! She runs well!”

“ _Does Luhan even have the right license for this??_ ”

“Nope.” Luhan straightened up and held out his hand to help Minseok off the bike. Minseok slid to the ground and hopped to regain his balance, then paused. Blinked. Burst out laughing.

“Luhan, we didn’t think this through.”

“Huh?”

“My chair.” Minseok giggled. “I don’t have a chair here. Or crutches.”

Luhan snorted with laughter.

“Fuck, you’re right. I’m stupid.”

“I’m just gonna have to hop,” Minseok said.

“Nah.” Luhan hooked an arm around Minseok’s back and scooped him up off the ground. “This is easier.”

Minseok squeaked in surprise, but looped his arms around around Luhan’s neck. “Okay. That works too.”

“I’m through the looking glass,” Yixing whispered, still clutching his heart. “There are no rules in this universe.”

Luhan carried Minseok into the warehouse and set him down on the bleachers, then retrieved his bag from his locker and pulled his skates and pads on.

“Are you all good watching from there?”

Minseok tilted his head to the side to consider it.

“Actually. You know what I want to try?”

“What?” Luhan paused halfway over the barrier.

“Help me over.”

With Luhan’s hand to steady him, Minseok clambered over the barrier and began hopping across to the corner of the rink.

“Hey, do you think I could skate on one leg?” he joked. “I probably wouldn’t get very far… unless you wanna pull me along or something.” He laughed, cheerful and breathless from exertion.

“Where are you going?” Luhan said.

“Up here!” They had reached the back of the half-pipe. Minseok took a careful hold of the ladder and began to climb it, one hop at a time.

“Oh my god, really?” Luhan watched him climb for a few rungs. “You won’t go up the stairs, but you’ll do that?”

“Hey.” Minseok paused for breath. “With stairs, you have to go up and forward. On a ladder, you only have to go up. Besides, I can use my hands here. I’m much better with my hands.”

“You are pretty good with your hands,” Luhan muttered, and didn’t miss the sarcastic glare Minseok shot down at him.

“Okay!” Minseok settled himself at the top of the half-pipe, his leg swinging over the edge. From his perch he had a birdseye view of the whole rink, and he gestured out with one arm. “Have at it. Let me see what you’ve got.”

Luhan took off for a warmup lap around the rink, jumping and grinding and doing some simple flips on the lower ramps. Then, taking a run up the far side of the half-pipe, he turned and let himself fall. Down, up, past Minseok and into the air.

Minseok gave an excited whoop as Luhan spun above him.

“Good technique!” he yelled, as Luhan dropped back in and skated off around the edge of the rink. “I think you can get more air, try it again!”

On his next line, Luhan tried to build as much speed as possible before he hit the ramp. He thought about flying, about the dreams in which he soared above the cliffs - and then about real-life flying: the outdoor sessions where he and Baekhyun would try and jump from roof to roof; racing down the highway on Minseok’s bike with the wind whipping up under his helmet; jumping from a swing at the highest point of its arc.

“Nice!” Minseok cried. “That was a whole three feet higher!”

Luhan threw a thumbs-up over his shoulder and turned to grind back along the rail. As he glanced past the half-pipe towards the bleachers, he started in surprise. Yixing was sitting on a bench halfway up, his hand pressed over his mouth, tears streaming down his face. As Yixing sniffed and wiped his eyes, Luhan realised it was Minseok he was looking at, perched happily on top of the half-pipe and kicking his heel against the side like an excited child as he called instructions to Luhan.

Luhan averted his eyes and focused on his line, leaving Yixing to weep in private.

-

It was fairly common, over the next few days, for Luhan to turn up at Minseok’s house and find him shirtless, regardless of the weather. The fabric was awkward against his tattoo, he explained, and he didn’t want to get fluff and fibres in it while it was healing.

Four days post-tattoo, when Luhan rang the doorbell, he was alarmed to hear a clank from the kitchen in response. When Minseok opened the door he was alarmingly tall (and distractingly bare-chested), and it took Luhan a second to realise that he had abandoned his wheelchair in favour of crutches.

“Woah. What’s wrong?”

Minseok cocked his head.

“What do you mean?”

“Did your wheelchair break or something?”

“Oh.” Minseok glanced down at his crutches. “No, it just annoys the fuck out of my tattoo. It’s all tight and itchy, and I keep rubbing it against the backrest.”

Luhan pulled a face as he pushed the door shut behind him.

“Is there anything you can do about it? I’m guessing you’re not supposed to actually scratch it when it itches.”

“Nah. I’ve been icing it, and I should be able to moisturise it now, but I… can’t reach.” Minseok pressed his lips into a thin line, looking either pissed off or embarrassed - perhaps both, Luhan thought.

“You can’t reach?”

“I can’t reach the middle of my back,” Minseok grumbled. “And it’s itchy and sore, and I can’t actually do anything other than dangle an ice pack near it.”

Luhan blinked at him for a second, then sighed.

“Dude. Use your words. You have so many of them.”

He grabbed Minseok by the wrist and turned to drag him down the hallway.

“Ah! Walking!” Minseok scrambled to catch his weight on one crutch and tugged his other hand out of Luhan’s grasp. On crutches he was much faster than Luhan was used to, and easily kept pace with him all the way down the hall to his bedroom.

“Lie down.” Luhan pointed at the bed. “Where’s your moisturiser?”

“Here.” Minseok sat down and picked up the bottle from the bedside table.

“Lie down,” Luhan repeated, and waited until Minseok did before swinging a leg over him and gently settling himself on Minseok’s butt.

“Oh, are you gonna-” Minseok glanced over his shoulder at Luhan and nodded towards the bedside table. “Clean hands if you’re touching it.”

Luhan grabbed a wet wipe from the packet on the table and scrubbed it over his hands, then took the moisturiser and squirted a dollop into his palm.

“Is it gonna hurt you when I touch it?”

“Not unless you scrape at it or something.”

“Okay.” Luhan took a deep breath and tentatively touched his finger to the middle of the tattoo.

Minseok tensed, then sighed as Luhan smeared the moisturiser out across the ink.

“Is that alright?”

Minseok nodded. “It’s nice and cold.”

Luhan had never even seen, let alone touched, a fresh tattoo before. All the other ink on Minseok’s body was old and soft - it just felt like skin. Here, every line was firm and raised, uneven at the edges where it was beginning to peel. Luhan found it equal parts fascinating and disturbing.

“What does it mean?”

Minseok made a questioning noise.

“The design.” Luhan traced over the outline of the little man soaring above the waves. “You had it before, right? On your leg. Does it have a special meaning?”

For a moment Minseok did not answer. Luhan realised the question was perhaps too personal, and was about to apologise for asking when Minseok spoke.

“I dream about flying. Every night. I always have.” He closed his eyes. “Sometimes it’s through the city, or around my house, but normally… over the ocean. Through the waves. It’s like gravity doesn’t even apply to me.” A slow smile spread across his face. “It’s the best feeling in the world.”

Luhan gaped at him, his hands frozen on Minseok’s back.

“That’s why I took up skating,” Minseok continued. “Easiest way of flying. No wings needed.”

 _Me too,_ Luhan wanted to say, _I’ve dreamt of flight every other night since I was twelve. It took me five years to find the skates to make it happen, and even now I still feel like maybe if I catch enough air I won’t have to come down._

“The original design had two legs, obviously,” Minseok added, then laughed. “I didn’t even tell Tao to draw it with just one this time. He just did it. Maybe he always knew it was supposed to be me.”

Luhan wiped the last of the moisturiser onto Minseok’s shoulders, then crawled off his butt and lay down beside him, pressed up against the wall in the small space. Minseok opened his eyes, and they just stared at each other for a minute.

“Hey,” Minseok whispered.

“Hey.”

“If I told you I’m not feeling sexy at all today and don’t want to get it on…” he paused, bit his lip, took a breath. “Would you still stay the night?”

Luhan nodded. “Of course.”

“Of course,” Minseok echoed. His eyes drifted shut, the edge of a smile playing in the corner of his mouth. “Awesome.”

-

Luhan had barely arrived at the rink and was still pulling his skates on when Baekhyun vaulted the railing in front of him.

“Dude! There you are!”

“Hey Baek!” Luhan looked up from his wrist guard. “What’s up?”

“Oh, not much. Just super astonished to see my best friend _for the first time in about two weeks_. Where have you been, man? You’re never at the rink anymore.”

“Yeah, I-” Luhan snapped his mouth shut, cheeks flaming. Yes, he had been at the rink nearly every day - at night, with Minseok, after everyone else had gone home and it was just Yixing keeping the books until midnight.

Baekhyun still had that sarcastic eyebrow going. Luhan shrugged, trying for nonchalant and ending up somewhere near awkward.

“I’ve been around.”

Baekhyun snorted. “Yeah, right. You used to spend even more time here than I did. This is the first time I’ve seen you since at least last Saturday.” He hoisted himself back over the railing beside Luhan. “Where do you go all day, Luhan? More to the point-” he swung in front of him, forcing Luhan to skid to a stop to avoid bowling him over, “- how have you gotten so good at those flips when you’re _never here to practise?_ ”

Luhan bit his lips shut and stared at Baekhyun while he tried to come up with a good answer. He couldn’t tell him the truth; Minseok had sworn him to secrecy, and he wasn’t about to blab, especially not to someone with lips as historically loose as Baekhyun’s. But Baekhyun _was_ his best friend, and it hurt to lie to him.

“Luhan,” Baekhyun said, “what are you hiding from me?”

Half the truth, he decided. The innocent half, the half that Baekhyun wouldn’t be too hurt at having had kept from him.

“I’ve been practising at night,” he said, voice low as he drew Baekhyun in with a hand on his shoulder. “After everyone else has gone. So that I have the rink to myself and I can just go hard for a couple of hours without running over the little kids.”

Baekhyun looked taken aback. “How did you get that one past Yixing?”

“I…” Luhan shrugged. “I owe him,” he admitted. And that was true. “I owe him big time. He’s been letting me practise after dark on my own, and he hasn’t made me pay extra… I dunno how I’m gonna repay him. But it’s really been helping me. I think I’ve actually got a good shot at placing at _East Xtreme_. Maybe even winning.”

“Lu, that’s awesome. I mean, I dunno why you didn’t just tell me, but… That’s cool. You’re really dedicated, huh?” He fell into step beside Luhan as they set off around the edge of the rink. “So, hey, do you think maybe I could join you one of these evenings? I could use some extra practise too.”

Luhan froze. _Fuck_. There was no way he could bring Baekhyun along. Minseok had made it clear that he wasn’t to tell _anyone_ about their coaching sessions. And if he asked Minseok not to come to the rink one night and he and Baekhyun skated alone, Baekhyun would want to join him the next time as well, and the next, and he would lose Minseok’s coaching entirely.

He must have hesitated a second too long; Baekhyun’s face fell.

“No, I get it,” he said. “You gotta focus on winning _East Xtreme_. You don’t want to help the competition.”

“Baek-”

“I get it, it’s fine.” Baekhyun turned abruptly and skated back around the rink. Luhan watched him intervene between Kris and Chanyeol, giving them each a sharp smack on the arm and pushing them apart with visible frustration. He realised he couldn’t remember the last time they had all gone for an outdoor skate together. He wondered whether it was just the fact that he had stopped suggesting it, or if they had stopped inviting him.

-

Baekhyun did not mention Luhan’s nighttime sessions again, but the issue hung thick in the air between them. Luhan tried not to care that Baekhyun was angry at him; yet not caring somehow hurt even more than caring, and by the end of the week he was sad and exhausted, half-heartedly feigning enthusiasm at the prospect of a three-hour session in the rink with Minseok.

“You’re quiet,” Minseok observed, when they were halfway down the highway and Luhan still hadn’t said a word.

“Mm.” Luhan stared out the window of the van and counted the streetlights as they flashed past.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

 _No_ , Luhan thought. Minseok did not say anything further, and when it became apparent that he was just going to let the silence sit until he got an answer, Luhan sighed.

“When you got serious about skating… did you find that you ended up losing your friends? That you had to push them away, or whatever?”

“No?” When Luhan turned his head, Minseok looked surprised. “Dude, no, the opposite. This is the point where you figure out who your friends are and keep them close.”

“… Oh.”

“Why?” Minseok frowned. “Did something happen?”

Luhan sighed.

“Baekhyun asked why I haven’t been at the rink so much.”

“Ah. What did you say?”

“I told him…” Luhan chewed his lip while he tried to predict whether Minseok would be angry at him for telling Baekhyun even this much. “I told him I’ve been practising in the rink late at night. By myself.”

“By yourself.” Minseok gave a little chuckle. “I’m sure he believed that.”

“Well, I think he did… but he asked if he could join me.”

“I see.”

“And I… well, I didn’t even tell him no. I just… didn’t know how…”

“You couldn’t bear to lie to him, but you also couldn’t tell him the truth.”

“Yeah.” Luhan slumped against the window.

For a minute there was silence save for the roar of the engine and the gentle whir of the AC. Minseok checked over his shoulder as he took the offramp, then glanced at Luhan.

“You should invite him to a practise.”

Luhan sat up. “Wait. What?”

“Look.” Minseok sighed. “I told you not to tell anyone I was coaching you because I didn’t want you spreading it around all your friends and destroying the seclusion I’ve spent three years protecting. It wasn’t meant to make you miserable like this.”

“I’m not miserable!” Luhan insisted. “It’s okay, I can keep it a secret, I’ll just-”

“Luhan. I’m not going to make you lie to your best friend. Okay? Bring him to a practise. Tomorrow, or the next day, or whenever.” He looked over at Luhan again, concerned now. “Luhan, I’m serious, hold onto your friends. You’re going to need them. I’m not saying don’t trust anyone you meet from here on out, but… the friends you have now? The ones who knew you when you were nobody? They’re the ones who will stick around when it all comes crashing down.”

As Minseok turned into the parking lot and cut the engine, Luhan tried not to dwell on the note of bitterness in his voice.

-

Luhan was pulling off his skates at the end of the night when Yixing strolled out of the office.

“Luhan.”

“What’s up?” Luhan pushed the sweaty hair out of his eyes and slammed his locker door shut.

“I was wondering if you might be able to talk to Baekhyun.”

Luhan’s mouth was halfway open to say, _yes, I’m going to, I’ll clear things up between us_ , but Yixing appeared to be thinking along a different line.

“I don’t know what his situation is at the moment, if he’s in a bit of a tight spot or something, but this is the second month he hasn’t paid his membership.”

“Membership?” Minseok, adjusting the footrest of his wheelchair, jerked upright to frown at Yixing. “What do you mean, _membership_? Xingy, we said this place would always be free for kids to come skate. What the hell are you doing charging them?”

“Minseok…” Yixing suddenly seemed uncomfortable. “I know, I know we said that, but. Hosting competitions only pays so much. This place ran off your winnings. Without that, I’m barely keeping the lights on.”

“What?” Minseok looked horrified. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me? I do still have money, you know.”

“No, dude. That’s- that’s yours, I can’t- I’m not gonna take your savings. We’re getting by, honestly, I don’t pay myself so I don’t have to charge them too much-”

Minseok’s frown only deepened. “If you’re not taking anything for yourself then how do you pay your rent?”

Yixing opened his mouth and seemed to struggle for a moment before swallowing hard and saying, “I don’t. I live here, Minseok.”

Luhan’s stomach fell through the floor as the world shifted. Late night practises, early morning sessions as the sun rose - Yixing didn’t stay late and arrive early, he was _always there_. Doing the books until the middle of the night, _of course_ , he was trying to run the numbers in a way that made ends appear to meet.

And Luhan and Minseok were using the rink after hours _for free_. Luhan felt sick.

“Minseok, please.”

Minseok had turned and was wheeling himself towards the door.

“Minseok-” Yixing took a step after him.

“Let’s _go_ , Luhan.”

Luhan glanced back at Yixing, who looked distraught. “Hey, Min-”

“I said, _let’s go!_ ”

Luhan gave Yixing an apologetic grimace and hurried after Minseok.

They spent the entire drive back to Minseok’s house in tense silence. Every time Luhan glanced over Minseok’s expression was more mutinous than before, and by the time they pulled into the garage he looked like he was about to explode.

Luhan got out of the car as meekly as he could, and waited for Minseok to slam the driver’s side door before closing his own.

Minseok wrenched his wheelchair out of the back and set it on the ground but did not sit down. Instead, with his hands braced on the armrests, he looked up at Luhan and said, “you need to leave.”

Luhan nodded and sucked his bottom lip into his mouth to keep it from trembling as he took his bicycle from against the far wall and wheeled it towards the open door.

“Hey.” Minseok caught him by the arm on his way past. Luhan flinched and bit down harder on his lip, but Minseok just held him. Then he pulled, turned Luhan around and pressed a hard kiss to his mouth.

“Go home,” he said, voice still brittle with barely-contained anger.

Luhan nodded again, then swung a leg over his bike and kicked off to freewheel down the drive. He did not pause at the gate, did not wait until the garage door had closed behind him, did not stop at the corner and look back at Minseok’s house. He pedalled hard in the direction of town and convinced himself that it was only the wind stinging his eyes.

-

The next morning, Luhan crunched some numbers. He counted up the hours he and Minseok had spent practising, budgeted at about twenty dollars an hour, then did the math and realised he could maybe afford half of that at a stretch. He cleaned out his bank account, tucked the resulting wad of bills into the inside pocket of his jacket, and made a mental note to get a damn job. Then he hopped back on his bike and headed for the rink.

When he arrived, he walked straight over to the corner office. Baekhyun was counting coins onto the counter, his brow furrowed in concentration as he dug into his pocket.

“Do you have fifty cents?” he said. Then he glanced up. “Oh. Hey.”

Luhan wished he were imagining the way Baekhyun’s face fell.

“Here.” Luhan fished a couple of coins out of his jeans and slid them onto the counter as Yixing came out of the back room.

“Hey, boys. How can I help?”

Luhan looked at Baekhyun, who looked back at him as if expecting Luhan to go first. When Luhan didn’t butt in, Baekhyun pushed his money across the counter towards Yixing.

“Cola?”

“Sure thing.” Yixing dropped the coins into the register without bothering to count them, then grabbed a can out of the fridge and passed it to Baekhyun. “Lu, you?”

Luhan hesitated and resisted the urge to glance at Baekhyun.

“Don’t worry, I’m going,” Baekhyun muttered. He cracked his soda open and turned to skate away in the direction of the bleachers.

“How are you doing today?” Yixing said. “Everything alright?”

Luhan pursed his lips and reached into his inside pocket for the wad of cash.

“Here,” he said, setting it down on the counter. “For the rink rental the nights we’ve been practising.”

Yixing looked down at the bills, but made no move to pick them up.

“I’m not going to take your money, Luhan.”

“But-”

“If I wanted you to pay for the space, I would have asked. Minseok organised those practise sessions at his discretion, and it’s up to him whether to charge for the rental. After all, it’s his rink too.”

Luhan opened his mouth to argue, but Yixing interrupted him.

“Come help me in here.” He indicated the wad of cash. “Put that away.”

Luhan folded the bills back into his pocket and followed Yixing into the back corner of the office, where Yixing grabbed two mugs off the kitchenette shelf and started spooning instant coffee into them.

“Luhan, you need to understand this,” he said, voice low and confidential. “Minseok and I have always been stupidly proud people. That’s how we had the balls to buy this warehouse in the first place.” He slid the coffee back onto the shelf and glanced over his shoulder at Luhan. “You know we built the rink ourselves?”

The surprise must have shown on Luhan’s face. Yixing nodded towards the huge roller doors at the front of the warehouse, open to the sun as always on a good day.

“It’s Minseok’s footprint in the concrete out front,” he said. “We basically gutted the building and rebuilt it from the ground up. It was a labour of love, you know?” He handed one of the mugs to Luhan. “Milk or sugar?”

“Nah.” Luhan wrapped his hands around the mug and waited for Yixing to continue. He was looking out over the counter at the rink, which was teeming with the usual morning crowd of skaters. In the near corner, Chanyeol was teaching a little girl how to stop without falling over. Kris and Baekhyun were doing flips on the half-pipe, taunting each other higher and higher as a small crowd of teenagers watched from the sidelines. The warehouse was buzzing with life, with triumphant landings and bruised knees and the scrape of wheels on rails.

“We were nineteen,” Yixing murmured. “And we thought we’d be the heart of the community.” He looked back at Luhan. “So being here like this, almost ten years later, and having kids who came here to try on their first pair of skates now winning the competitions? Sleeping in the back room seems like a really small price to pay for that.”

There was something in Yixing’s voice, in his eyes, that made Luhan choke up. _You are the heart of the community_ , he wanted to say, _for some of us you’re the centre of our entire worlds, we’d be nothing without you_. He tried for a second to imagine a universe in which the rink did not exist, in which he did not wake up every morning knowing there was a place he belonged - a place where he could fall and fail and get back up and try again and push himself to greater heights alongside the best friends he’d ever had, all of whom were there for the pure love of the sport.

Yixing must have misinterpreted Luhan’s expression.

“Don’t mind Minseok.” He leaned in to fix Luhan with a serious look. “He’s just proud. He’s always been proud. And I think he’s had to force himself to forget that life goes on without him. It was just a bit jarring for him to remember that I’ve been managing on my own since he’s been gone.”

Luhan nodded and took a sip of his coffee. He was familiar with Minseok’s particular brand of vanity, the way he valued his legacy, his stubborn insistence on being generous with his time and money. It wasn’t hard to imagine the blow to his ego at finding out how things had changed at the rink in his absence.

“What did he say to you after you left last night?”

“Nothing.” Luhan shook his head. “He just told me to leave. I’ve never seen him that angry.” _I’ve never really seen him angry at all._

Yixing looked taken aback. “Did he shout at you?”

“No. He just got kind of dangerously quiet.”

“Ah. Right. That’s not anger.” Yixing’s face twisted into something sympathetic. “Angry Minseok yells and throws things on the ground. He’s like the Hulk. You can hear him from half a block away. When he goes quiet like that, it means he’s trying not to cry.”

“… Oh.”

Yixing gave a little shrug as if to say, _what can you do?_

That little shrug made up Luhan’s mind, and he set his mug down on the bench. “Thanks for the coffee.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of bills, which he handed to Yixing.

“Luhan, I said-”

“For Baekhyun’s membership,” Luhan insisted, shoving the money into Yixing’s hand. “Last month, this month, and next month.”

Yixing resisted for another second, then gave a resigned sort of laugh as he took the money. “You’re just like Minseok, you know that?”

“Yep.” Luhan raised his chin. “And Baekhyun is my Yixing, so…”

Yixing laughed again, a real grin on his face this time.

“Okay, fair point. Go on, then, go practise your flips.”

“Actually, I think I’m gonna head out.” Luhan clapped Yixing on the shoulder. “I’ll see you tonight, though, if that’s okay?”

“Absolutely.” Yixing nodded. “I’m always here.”

“I know.” Luhan grinned and turned to dash out of the office.

Halfway to the front door, he almost collided with Baekhyun.

“Baek, hey!” Luhan caught him by the elbow as he skidded to a stop.

“Lu-”

“Listen,” he interrupted. “I’m a shithead.” Baekhyun’s jaw dropped, but Luhan plowed on. “Skate with me tonight. Eight o’clock, be here. Just you. No-one else. You’ll see why.” He dragged Baekhyun into a hug, squeezing hard until Baekhyun gasped. “I’m sorry I’ve been keeping secrets from you, it was stupid, but you’re my best friend and I want to share this with you, so if you just come tonight-”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there.” Baekhyun looked bewildered, his hands coming up to hold Luhan’s elbows as if he were worried Luhan might talk himself breathless and faint from lack of oxygen. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I just- I gotta run. I’ll see you tonight. Don’t tell anyone about it!” He gave Baekhyun a last squeeze and sprinted out the door.

-

Minseok did not answer the door. Luhan rang the bell several times and knocked on the heavy wood hard enough to bruise his knuckles, but there was no response.

Perhaps Minseok had gone out. Maybe Jongdae had come and picked him up to go grocery shopping. Luhan sighed. He would have to go home and come back later. As a last thought he tested the door handle, and was shocked when it turned easily.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered. He hesitated on the doorstep - he wasn’t sure if Minseok would appreciate him entering uninvited - but eventually reasoned that he spent enough time in Minseok’s house that it would probably be weirder if he _didn’t_ go in.

“Hello? Minseok?”

He tiptoed down the hallway. The bedroom door was open, and he peered in to see if perhaps Minseok was asleep. But no. The room was empty, the bed haphazardly made and the blinds half-open.

Luhan was about to step back into the hallway when something caught his eye. The bedside table held its usual collection of odds and ends - headphones, moisturiser, reading glasses - but something was different. One of the photo frames was lying facedown on the table. Luhan took a tentative step closer. The remaining photo was of Minseok and Jongdae. Luhan did not need to pick up the facedown photo to know that it was of Yixing and Minseok in front of the rink.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped back into the hallway.

“Minseok?”

There was still no answer, but now, at this end of the hallway, Luhan could hear a faint noise - a rhythmic thudding coming from the far end of the house. When he stepped into the living room and looked out the French doors into the backyard, he found the source: Minseok, in his wheelchair, bouncing a basketball off the side of the house.

The door was ajar, and Luhan carefully slid it open. He did not speak, and Minseok did not look at him, just kept bouncing the ball off the same spot halfway up the wall.

“Five bucks says I end up damaging the paintwork,” Minseok said, when Luhan had observed half a dozen throws. “Ten bucks says I don’t care.”

Luhan opened his mouth but couldn’t find a response to that.

“Hey, fun fact,” Minseok continued, as if Luhan’s participation in the conversation were optional. “Did you know it’s only travelling if I touch my wheels more than twice?”

He took three more shots, then caught the ball and let it fall into his lap.

“You know what’s worse than feeling like you’re not needed?”

Luhan hoped it was a rhetorical question. Minseok made as if to raise the ball again, then dropped it back onto his thighs.

“Knowing that you _are_ needed and not being able to provide.”

Minseok threw the ball at the wall again, harder this time - hard enough to send it flying over his head and across the yard. He glared at the wall, lips pinched shut.

Luhan felt helpless. Minseok didn’t even look angry now, just bone deep sad, and Luhan didn’t know what to do.

Cautiously he stepped out onto the concrete and picked his way over to Minseok. Minseok did not look at him, but nor did he avoid his gaze when Luhan stopped in front of his chair and bent down.

Luhan took Minseok’s face in his hands. He brushed his thumbs over Minseok’s cheekbones, let his fingers slide either side of his ears to tilt his face upwards. When Minseok didn’t frown or pull away, Luhan leaned forward and kissed him.

He didn’t want to say _it’s okay_ , because it wasn’t. He didn’t want to say _we can figure it out_ , because maybe they couldn’t.

Instead, he said, “Do you want coffee?”

Minseok closed his eyes. Gave the tiniest huff of a laugh. Nodded in Luhan’s hands.

“Sure,” he said. “Coffee sounds good.”

They went inside, and Luhan turned on the coffee machine. He’d watched Minseok do this enough times that he thought he had a pretty good idea of how to do it. Grinder on, machine warming up, milk out of the fridge, two clean cups off the shelf. He picked up the portafilter and slid it under the spout of the grinder. There was a lever somewhere that dropped the coffee into the filter…

“On the side,” Minseok offered from where he was hoisting himself up onto a barstool. “Pull it three or four times.”

Luhan found the lever and flicked it back and forth until the portafilter was full.

“Tamp it,” Minseok said. “On top of the machine… no, to the right… yep, that thing.”

Minseok talked him through tamping the shot, loading it into the machine, and drawing it into the cup. When he came to steam the milk, though, things went a bit sideways.

Luhan had never observed this part too closely. He’d measured the milk into the metal jug enough times, but he’d never noticed how Minseok steamed it other than “hold it still and maybe go up and down a few times?” As it turned out, it was a bit more complicated than that.

“Ah! Minseok, how-” Luhan tried to take the jug out from under the wand, but that just made it spray more, milk flicking up into his face.

“Bring it up!” Minseok called. “Make sure the wand’s fully in- ah, fuck it.” He slid off his stool and hopped around the counter to help.

“How do you do it without it going everywhere?”

“Like this.” Minseok guided Luhan’s hands to tilt the jug, holding it at just the right height. “You want to get the milk spinning, get some air into it. Just enough to bulk it up, not so much that it goes all bubbly. There’s an art to it.”

Luhan sighed. “What would I do without you?”

“Drink water.” Minseok grinned up at him as he switched the machine off.

They took their coffee into the living room and drank it on the couch, looking out the open French doors at the sunlit yard.

“Ugh.” Luhan grimaced down at his cup. “This is terrible.”

“Mine’s not too bad. It’s pretty good, actually, for a first try.” Minseok leaned over and motioned for a sip of Luhan’s coffee. “Oh. Yeah. That’s way over-extracted.” He took the cup out of Luhan’s hands and passed him his own. “I’ll swap you.”

“Dude-”

“I like it stronger anyway,” Minseok shrugged. He raised the cup to his lips and took a gulp, then beamed at Luhan as if to prove that the coffee was drinkable.

“Moustache,” Luhan pointed out.

“Mhm.” Minseok licked the foam off his top lip. “The best kind.”

“The only kind,” Luhan teased.

Minseok snorted. “You’re one to talk, peach fuzz.”

“At least I can actually grow facial hair.”

“Yeah, but _should_ you?”

“Ouch. _Ouch._ ”

Minseok laughed at him, chuckling into his coffee as Luhan feigned heartbreak.

“You’ve got some too, you know,” Minseok said, tapping his lip. Luhan wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, but Minseok shook his head. “Nah, still there. Here-” he licked his finger and reached out.

“Ew, dude, I don’t want your spit on my face.”

Minseok squinted at him. “You will literally have my actual mouth on your mouth, but as soon as it’s on my finger then _nooo_ , it’s gross.”

“It’s… different.”

“Okay then.” Minseok set his cup down on the end table and shuffled closer to grab Luhan’s face and lick the coffee off his lip. “Is that better?”

“Blech.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Minseok kissed him, mouth deliberately open against Luhan’s lips, then sat back and raised an eyebrow. “How is that any different?”

Instead of replying, Luhan pulled him back in. Minseok gave an exasperated sigh, which Luhan sucked into his mouth along with Minseok’s bottom lip.

“Mm-” Minseok’s breath gave a little hitch as Luhan began nibbling on his lip. “Is this your ‘cheer up Minseok’ strategy? Coffee and making out?”

Luhan broke away and let his nose trail back and forth along Minseok’s cheekbone. “Is it working?”

“Maybe.” Minseok turned his head to meet Luhan’s mouth again, whispering into his lips. “Give it a minute and we’ll see.”

It was impossible to kiss like that for very long before it turned into more. When Minseok’s hands began to wander across Luhan’s hips, tucking into the small of his back and pulling him closer by inches, Luhan decided he could fairly easily predict how they were going to be spending the afternoon.

“Mmm- hey-” Minseok paused, his hands under Luhan’s shirt to caress the side of his ribs. “Lu.”

“Yeah?” Luhan nipped another kiss from Minseok’s lips.

“I gotta ask, because- man, I wanna- I- _fuck_.” Minseok cupped a hand around Luhan’s cheek as if the flush there were derailing his train of thought. “I’m not sure how you feel about things that are… a little bit degrading.”

Luhan blinked at him. That was unexpected.

“Um. Okay? I guess?”

“Cause I…” Minseok’s eyes seemed drawn to Luhan’s bottom lip, stuck out in a little shrug. He traced over it, rolling it under his thumb. “I want to fuck your mouth. I want to come on your face.”

 _Oh fuck_. Luhan wished he could explain why that instantly gave him the most painful erection of his life.

“Yeah,” he groaned. “Yeah, shit.” He could already feel his breath coming faster against Minseok’s thumb, and he let his tongue come forward to taste his skin, his lips wrapping around it and gently sucking.

“ _Jesus_ ,” Minseok whispered. His other hand squeezed Luhan’s waist, then dropped to the front of his own pants. “Fuck. On your knees.”

Luhan scrambled off the couch and dropped to the floor in front of Minseok, who had unbuttoned his pants and was wriggling out of them. Luhan tugged them the rest of the way off his leg, closely followed by his briefs, and settled in between Minseok’s thighs as he shuffled forward on the couch.

“Oh shit,” Minseok muttered. “Look at you. So fucking eager for my cock.” He stroked himself a few times, his other hand cupping around the back of Luhan’s head. “Let me see what that mouth can do.”

Luhan parted his lips and let Minseok pull him forward. He licked over the head of Minseok’s cock, tongue swirling around to taste him. Minseok groaned and tightened his hold on the back of Luhan’s neck.

“Yeah, fuck-” he thumbed Luhan’s mouth open and guided the tip of his cock inside. Luhan let his eyes flutter closed, and Minseok groaned again. “Oh shit, that’s what I fuckin’ wanna see. Yeah.” He began to thrust, shallowly at first, just the head of his cock moving past Luhan’s lips.

Luhan breathed deeply through his nose as Minseok’s thrusts began to deepen, pushing past his tongue towards the back of his throat. He grabbed at Minseok’s thighs, squeezing the end of Shorty as Minseok thrust into his throat with a moan.

“Luhan- holy shit, you’re so good, you look so good, take my cock like that-”

Luhan swallowed, and Minseok’s whole body quivered. His hand wound more firmly into Luhan’s hair, pulling him forward as he thrust in, rougher, deeper, until Luhan gave up all control and let Minseok drag him where he wanted him to be.

“Yeah- yeah, Lu, fuck, I’m close.” Minseok’s hips snapped forward a few more times, rough and erratic, and then he pulled out, still holding Luhan by his hair as he began to jerk himself.

“ _Oh shit, Lu_ -”

Luhan squeezed his eyes shut as Minseok came with a moan. Hot come striped his face from his eyebrows to his chin, running down his nose and dripping into his open mouth.

For a moment there was just the sound of ragged breath as Minseok stroked the last few drops out of himself. Then the hand disappeared from Luhan’s hair.

“Oh my god. Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” Minseok swiped a thumb over Luhan’s eyelid, and Luhan cautiously opened his eyes. Minseok was flushed and panting, staring down at Luhan as if he were the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He bent forward and kissed the come from Luhan’s mouth, sucking each lip into his mouth and licking it clean.

The way Minseok touched him was caring, appreciative, and Luhan’s heart pounded painfully in his chest. People had done this to him before, but it had never been like this. He didn’t feel dirty or used; he felt sexy and worthy. Not degraded, but desired.

“You’re so beautiful,” Minseok was whispering. “So beautiful, so good for me, fuck, I lo- god, Luhan-” he dragged Luhan up onto the couch and pushed him back on the cushions. “Such a good boy. I’m gonna make you feel so good, darling, so nice-”

Luhan let out the breath of a moan as Minseok unzipped his jeans and pulled them down to his knees. He lifted his head off the couch to watch Minseok take his cock in hand and give it a few firm strokes before ducking his head to lick a stripe up the side.

“ _Shit_ …”

Minseok gave him an indulgent little smile and began to suck delicately at the head, his tongue playing over the frenulum until Luhan whined and rolled his hips up.

“I love it when you get impatient,” Minseok muttered. Without further ado, he opened his mouth and sank all the way down onto Luhan’s cock.

“ _Oh f- fuck-_ ”

Minseok hummed, and Luhan moaned as the vibrations shivered out through his hips. Minseok hadn’t been lying when he’d talked about how much his mouth could take. His tiny lips were stretched around the base of Luhan’s cock, his eyes closed as he breathed in through his nose. After a moment he slowly pulled back off, his tongue pressed to the underneath in a way that made Luhan’s eyes unfocus.

“Oh m- oh my god- Min-”

“I told you I’m good at this,” Minseok whispered. He returned to sucking the head as his hand began to pump up and down the shaft, sliding and twisting and pulling Luhan towards the edge.

Luhan normally prided himself a little bit on his stamina. When he wanted to, he could go for hours. With Minseok’s fingers creeping back behind his balls, though, he could feel his control beginning to strain a little bit.

“Minseok- I’m gonna come soon.”

Minseok looked up at him, and if his lips hadn’t been otherwise occupied Luhan thought he might have been smirking. His fingers traced in gentle circles over the skin behind Luhan’s balls, and for a moment Luhan thought Minseok was about to try and stick one up his ass - but then Minseok pressed into the skin, and Luhan cried out.

“ _Holy shit-_ ”

Minseok gave a pleased hum and pushed again, massaging that spot until Luhan shuddered and came with a shout. He curled forward, hips jerking, chasing the heat of Minseok’s mouth.

“Fuck,” Luhan breathed, head spinning as he collapsed back against the couch. After a second he pushed himself up on his elbows to look at Minseok - Minseok, who had a trickle of come running down his chin, lips squeezed shut, cheeks bulging, eyes twinkling.

Minseok held Luhan’s gaze and swallowed.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Luhan repeated. Minseok licked the trail of come off his chin and swallowed that too, then crawled lop-sidedly up the couch into Luhan’s arms.

“You taste good,” he murmured as he snuggled into Luhan’s chest.

“Really?”

“Mhm.” Minseok nodded. “I dunno. It always tastes better when you actually like someone.”

Luhan laughed, a bit breathlessly. “Good to know you like me.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Minseok lifted his head and kissed him, soft and lazy. He brushed his nose against Luhan’s and opened his mouth, took a breath - then closed it again, cleared his throat, pecked another kiss to Luhan’s lips and snuggled back into his collarbone.

“What’s up?”

Minseok shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll tell you later.”

Luhan blinked down at him. “… Okay?”

Minseok kissed his neck, and Luhan felt him smile against his skin.

“I’m just really glad I get to do this with you.”

“Me too.” Luhan nuzzled into Minseok’s hair.

There was a moment of silence.

Then-

“Did you just wipe come on my hair?”

“Dude, it’s _your_ come.”

“That’s fucking gross.”

“You will literally have my actual dick in your mouth, but as soon as it’s on my face then _nooo_ , it’s-”

“Oh my fucking god, Luhan-”

Words turned into laughter, and laughter turned into kisses, and by the time Luhan carried Minseok into the bathroom to clean up they were a little more sweaty and a _lot_ more naked.

-

Luhan did not instantly pull on his skates and jump onto the ramps when they arrived at the rink that night. Instead he sat in the bleachers, his hands folded between his knees, foot jiggling out a nervous rhythm. Over the general hum of the rink he could hear Minseok and Yixing in the office, talking about costs and overheads and whether Yixing was eating properly with just this tiny little kitchenette to cook in.

It was while Minseok was querying Yixing’s vitamin D intake that the door swung open and Baekhyun slipped into the warehouse. Luhan jumped up to greet him.

“Hey. Baek.”

“Yo, Luhan!” Baekhyun appeared to be in a good mood, giving Luhan a little salute as he dropped his bag on the bench and unzipped it to pull out his skates. “You ready to get started?”

“Uh. Just a second.” Luhan took a deep breath and tried not to wring his hands together. “First I need to tell you - you know how you said I should get a coach?”

“Yeah, man.” Baekhyun looked up from his skates. “Did you manage to find someone?”

Luhan bit his lip and nodded. “Um, yeah, I actually-”

“Hi there.”

Luhan jumped and turned around to see Minseok right behind him, one gloved hand lifting from his wheel to hold out in Baekhyun’s direction.

“You must be Byun Baekhyun. I’m Kim Minseok. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Luhan didn’t think he’d ever seen Baekhyun speechless before. His hand was visibly limp as Minseok shook it, and all the blood appeared to have drained from his face.

“Do you wanna show me what you’ve got?” Minseok continued. “I’ve seen your videos, but I’d love to see the real thing.”

The noise Baekhyun made sounded like a hedgehog being trodden on. He gave a trembling little nod and stumbled over to the barrier.

As Baekhyun tripped into the rink, Minseok leaned over to nudge Luhan in the hip.

“You didn’t give him any warning, did you?” he muttered out the side of his mouth.

“No, I did not.”

Minseok chuckled. “You’re terrible.”

“I think you broke him,” Luhan said. “He’s forgotten how to skate.”

Minseok clicked his fingers. “Aw yes, still got it.”

Luhan stifled his laughter into the back of his hand.

Watching Minseok critique a session was rather different from being on the receiving end of it. Luhan sat next to Minseok while he watched Baekhyun, and he found that behind the finger tracing across Minseok’s chin was a steady stream of muttered notes. Where Luhan saw an averagely well-executed jump, Minseok saw “feet could be tucked up better”, “curling forward too much”, and “good landing, but what are those hands doing?”

When Baekhyun finally stopped in front of them at the railing, trying not to look like he was struggling for breath, Minseok rolled forward to meet him with his elbows on the barrier.

“Okay, do you wanna know what I thought?”

Baekhyun nodded, but his hands were twisting together and he still had that hedgehog look about him. Luhan recognised this purgatory - it was the same feeling he’d had the first time Minseok had watched him skate, when he hadn’t been sure whether he was about to be praised or criticised.

“Your technique is really good,” Minseok said. “You have a great awareness of what your body is doing.”

“Oh my god,” Baekhyun wheezed. “Oh my god, thank you.”

“What I think you need to work on is hitting everything really crisply, you know? Like instead of kind of sliding into a pose and then sliding back out of it, hit it hard and hold it until you can snap into the next one. That’ll make your spins in particular look even better.”

Baekhyun nodded hard, his hair flopping into his eyes. “Yeah, absolutely, oh my god thank you-”

“Overall, though, you’re doing really good stuff. I’m keen to see where you go from here.” Minseok smiled at Baekhyun, then slapped Luhan’s ass. “Get in there.”

As Luhan climbed over the barrier and set off around the edge of the rink, Baekhyun drew alongside him.

“He just smacked your butt!” he hissed in Luhan’s ear.

 _He’s done a lot more than that to it,_ Luhan thought, but he just nodded, hoping his cheeks weren’t too red.

“Dude, why didn’t you tell me that _Kim Minseok_ was your coach?” Baekhyun continued.

“He told me to keep it a secret. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“No, no, of course not.” Baekhyun shook his head emphatically. “Is he… missing a leg?”

“Yeah.”

Baekhyun grimaced. “What do you think happened?”

Luhan hummed noncommittally and jumped up to grind along the rail. “You’d have to ask him that,” he said, knowing full well that Baekhyun wouldn’t.

“Yeah, I guess.” Baekhyun broke off to take a run at the ramp into a roughneck spin. He waited until Luhan was beside him again before saying, “well, I guess now we know why he retired.”

Luhan just nodded and peeled away from Baekhyun towards the half-pipe. It was obvious why Minseok had retired. What concerned Luhan was how he was going to maintain that carefully-crafted seclusion if Luhan was constantly dragging him back into the spotlight.

-

 _East Xtreme_ was fast approaching. Luhan spent his days at the rink, drilling flips and spins until he thought he could do them in his sleep. He was still wiping out occasionally on the 900, either under- or over-rotating so that he landed sideways and came down in a sprawling heap on the ramp. Each time he would pick himself back up with a scowl, dust off his bruised backside, and begin another lap around the rink.

His evenings were spent with Minseok, either back at the rink for more intensive coaching or else curled together on the couch, eating dinner and watching movies and losing track of the plot halfway through when they inevitably became much more interested in each other. Luhan was spending more and more of his nights at Minseok’s house, to the point that his mother stopped texting him each evening to ask if he’d be coming home. There was something both comfortable and thrilling about existing in Minseok’s space, like the whole world was simultaneously awaiting his discovery and sitting in the palm of his hand.

Several times Luhan found himself wanting to phrase this feeling as love - in the early mornings when he would wake up with his face pressed to Minseok’s shoulder, or over lunch when Minseok would lean over to kiss the coffee from his lips, or when they were driving home from an evening practise, exhausted and drained, and Minseok would break the silence to tell Luhan how hard he was working and how proud of him he was.

It was in these moments that Luhan locked up his tongue. He clamped his mouth shut, pressed the feeling down, and held it there until he was sure it wouldn’t tumble from his lips uninvited. This was not love. This could not be love. This was hero-worship taken to an unrealistic extreme, to the point where Luhan could close his eyes and almost let himself believe that it was more. He could not be falling in love with Minseok, because there was no way that Minseok would ever fall in love with him. Not with a boy - barely a man - seven years younger than him, with all the naivete of that youth. Minseok had seen so much more of the world, of life, and the most responsibility Luhan had ever had was a couple of summers spent flipping burgers.

Perhaps Minseok had noticed Luhan’s emotional dilemma, because he seemed to be growing a little distant. Often these days Luhan would arrive at Minseok’s house to find he wasn’t there, and would end up sitting on the doorstep to wait for him to get home. Minseok would turn up eventually, and when asked would simply say he had been running errands. He would offer no further details, but he always greeted Luhan with a smile and a kiss, so Luhan assumed the errands were a good thing. Nevertheless, it was difficult to shake the feeling that there was something Minseok wasn’t telling him - and even more difficult to reconcile the fact that he really had no right to ask.

Luhan felt frustrated. There was no-one he could talk to about his feelings for Minseok, or the doubts he had about Minseok’s feelings towards him. The only people who were aware he even knew Minseok were Yixing and Baekhyun, and neither of them had any idea that the relationship went beyond coaching.

Or- no. Wait.

There was someone.

He just needed an excuse to see them.

-

The smell of apple and antiseptic was not quite familiar, but still oddly comforting. As the door swung closed behind him, Luhan took a second just to bask in the cool air conditioning and the wall-to-wall snark of _Street Inc_.

At the counter, Tao was serving a young man with dark hair. He directed him towards the credit card reader and glanced up towards the door, where his eyes met Luhan’s. With a nod of greeting, Tao flicked his eyes towards his customer and gave half a surreptitious grimace. Luhan nodded and stepped to the side to wait.

“Alright,” Tao said, tearing off the receipt and offering it to the young man. “There you go. So yeah, look after it and hopefully you won’t have to make the trip again just for a touch-up.”

“Oh, I don’t mind.” The man waved away the receipt and gave Tao a little salute. “Thank you.”

As he turned away from the counter, Luhan felt a shock of recognition. He knew this man. Straight, precise features, thick eyebrows, hair brushed back from an admittedly impressive forehead - it took Luhan a second to place him, and when he did, his stomach dropped. It was the vlogger who had made that video detailing the conspiracy theories around Minseok’s disappearance: Suho91.

Luhan waited until he was out the door before stepping up to the counter.

“Holy shit,” he began.

“Fuck that guy,” Tao muttered, crumpling up the receipt and dropping it in the bin. “I don’t like to badmouth customers, but _fuck_ that guy.” He turned to grab two Red Bulls from the minifridge and handed one to Luhan, then cracked open the other and downed half of it in one mouthful.

“What happened?”

“So he apparently drove three hours to get here, right? And I’m thinking great, that’s awesome, clearly he really loves my work and went out of his way because he wants _me_ to tattoo him, this is such a compliment. Then I find out no, it’s nothing to do with my actual art, he just found out I used to tattoo Minseok and wanted to see if I knew any gossip about what might have happened to him.”

“Oh my god.” Luhan was disappointed, but not surprised. “What did you tell him?”

“Fucking _nothing_.” Tao scowled. “I said I did a couple pieces for him a few years ago, and I changed the damn subject. All five times he brought it up.”

“ _Wow_.”

“Yup!” Tao rolled his shoulders back as if trying to shake off his anger. “Just a Grade A douchebag, really.”

“I hope you screwed up his tattoo.”

“I _wish_ I had that little integrity.” Tao sighed. “Nah, my reputation’s not worth him. But the design - not my art, mind you - was a super tacky skateboard all along the side of his foot, so I wish him luck with that three-hour drive home.” He smirked and took another, more measured, sip of his drink. “Anyway, what can I do for you?”

Luhan leaned forward over the counter. “I need your advice. And some ink.”

-

Hiding a fresh tattoo turned out to be easier than Luhan had expected. Being as he was content to skate in a flannel shirt and jeans, Luhan was fairly used to keeping all his skin covered in the rink, and with _East Xtreme_ less than two weeks away and every available second devoted to practise he and Minseok weren’t really finding much time to get naked. On the nights that Luhan stayed at Minseok’s house he would often collapse into bed fully clothed, asleep before Minseok had even crawled in beside him.

Regarding his situation with Minseok, Luhan decided to take Tao’s advice and play it cool. Minseok seemed to like him, so what difference did it make whether it was love? There was definitely a certain degree of affection between them, not to mention passion, and pushing Minseok to accept any deeper feelings Luhan had would inevitably do more harm than good. Better to just take it as it came rather than trying to force it.

Besides, Tao had added, Minseok kept his emotions pretty well locked up. Who knew what he was feeling?

And that was true, Luhan thought. He would simply have to wait and see.

-

On one hand, piling into Chanyeol’s car at six in the morning felt a lot like every other road trip they’d taken together. Luhan snoozed on Kris’s shoulder in the back seat while Baekhyun sat up front to navigate for Chanyeol, and they stopped at a roadside diner for breakfast when Kris’s stomach growled loudly enough to wake him up.

On the other hand, at the other end of that journey awaited the most important competition of his life so far, and Luhan was terrified.

The building seemed bigger and more intimidating than it ever had before. Perhaps that was because this was the first year he’d ever had the guts to do more than spectate. Luhan looked up at the front of the stadium complex, with its giant banner announcing that this was inescapably _East Xtreme_ , and felt like he might be sick.

“We should have come up last night for the practise,” he murmured, cold down to his shoes in the morning sun.

“Fuck that gas money,” Baekhyun said as he clapped him on the back. “C’mon, Lu, we’ve been here before, you know what the rink looks like! You’ll be fine.”

Check-in passed in a blur - registrations for Luhan, Baekhyun, and Kris, and a spectator’s ticket for Chanyeol, who had decided not to compete.

“Oh, they’ve got a juniors category this year!” Baekhyun said, looking at the programme. “That’s cool, I wish they’d had that when we were younger.”

 _Perfect_ , Luhan thought. Ten-year-olds who could skate better than him.

“Yo, dude.” Baekhyun stepped in front of Luhan and gave him a little shake by the shoulders. “You’ve got this. You’ve been practising harder than any of us. If _Kris_ of all people thinks he’s got a shot, then you have nothing to worry about!”

“I fucking resent that,” Kris muttered.

“Besides,” Baekhyun added quietly. “Look who you’ve got on your side.”

“Yeah!” Chanyeol clapped Luhan on the back, completely oblivious to the fact that Baekhyun wasn’t talking about him.

Luhan blew out a breath between pursed lips and gave a shaky nod. Perhaps Baekhyun was right. If Minseok believed in him, then maybe that meant he really _could_ do it.

“Come on.” Baekhyun took Luhan by the hand and laced their fingers together. “Let’s get good seats.”

They found a spot up high in the stands, where they would have a perfect view of all the action. Luhan looked down at the rink and imagined himself on that half-pipe in a few hours’ time. He suddenly felt dizzy, and began to unbutton his flannel shirt for some air, then stopped himself with a jerk. No. Not yet.

“Hey.” Chanyeol sat forward and pointed down the stands. “Is that Yixing?”

“What? No way.” Baekhyun squinted. “Holy shit, it is!” Without another word, he jumped over the seat in front of him and tore away down the steps.

“Watch my stuff!” Chanyeol yelled as he sprinted after him.

“Watch our stuff,” Kris ordered the two teenage girls next to them, whom Luhan vaguely recognised from the rink.

“Thanks!” Luhan called to them as he turned to race after Kris.

“Xingy!” Baekhyun barrelled into Yixing where he stood chatting with a couple of skateboarders. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I didn’t expect to see you this weekend!” Chanyeol cried, flinging an arm around Yixing’s neck in an affectionate headlock.

Yixing grinned, amusement dimpling into one cheek. He pushed Chanyeol off and shoved good-naturedly at his shoulder. “I came with a friend.”

If Luhan had blinked, he would have missed the way Yixing’s eyes flicked towards him. The glance almost seemed casual, with the way Yixing was smiling at Chanyeol, but a second later his eyes slid back towards Luhan - and there was that dimple again.

No way. _No way_.

“What about the rink?” Kris said. “Is it closed? On a day other than Christmas??” 

“No, I trust the kids not to burn it down,” Yixing smiled.

Luhan realised he was still gaping at Yixing, and he shut his mouth with an effort. There was no doubt in his mind which _friend_ Yixing had come to the competition with - and yet he still struggled to believe it. Luhan had wished so badly that he could come, but this was a huge public event, not to mention in the skating community, and there was no way Minseok would- 

“Besides,” Yixing said. “With you guys skating?” he looked at Luhan again, and this time held his gaze. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Luhan swallowed the lump in his throat and tried not to look like he was about to cry. Had Yixing really brought Minseok to watch him compete? He glanced around, but he couldn’t see anyone in a wheelchair. That was fair, though - Minseok was probably hiding in a corner somewhere where he wouldn’t be noticed.

The suspense of it was too much to take on top of his existing nerves, and as they found their seats again Luhan couldn’t help but pull out his phone.

_To: Minseok_ _  
_ _are u really here???_

The response was almost instantaneous.

_From: Minseok_ _  
_ _;P_

With a breath of relief, Luhan took that as a yes.

_To: Minseok_ _  
_ _where are u? i can’t see u_

_From: Minseok_ _  
_ _good. i’m hiding._

_To: Minseok_ _  
_ _okay, that’s cool_

_To: Minseok_ _  
_ _how exactly do you hide a one-legged celebrity in a room full of athletes?_

_From: Minseok_ _  
_ _i’m not a celebrity_

_From: Minseok_ _  
_ _also shut up._

Luhan laughed and tucked his phone back into his pocket. He looked around the stands again, but there was still no sign of Minseok. On the off-chance that Minseok might be able to see him, he blew a kiss to the air.

“What are you doing?” Kris was side-eyeing him.

“Uh. Just for good luck.”

“Oh. Cool.” Kris shrugged and blew a kiss of his own.

Luhan kind of hoped Minseok _was_ watching, just so he could have a little laugh at that.

Knowing that Minseok was there to cheer him on eased Luhan’s nerves a little, but as the day’s programme began he found them beginning to mount again. All through the skateboarding and BMX events he was on the edge of his seat, and by the time the junior inline skaters had finished their event his heart was back in his throat.

This was not improved by seeing the order of competitors.

“Oh, come on!” Luhan turned and smacked his forehead into Kris’s shoulder. “As if the whole day wasn’t long enough to wait.”

“Last skater in the last event.” Kris patted his head sympathetically. “That’s rough.”

“At least you know what you have to beat,” Baekhyun said. “I’m first.”

“I’m tenth,” Kris said. “So I’m only two before you, Lu. I feel your pain.”

“Okay, well, wish me luck.” Baekhyun squared his shoulders and picked up his bag. “Who promises to buy me beer if I don’t fall on my face?”

“I’ll buy you anything you want if we all survive this,” Luhan said. He patted Baekhyun on the back as he departed with the first lot of skaters, then followed Kris back to their seats to watch.

Baekhyun proceeded to set the standard. His tricks were nothing flashy, but every single one of them was perfectly executed, each pose hit and snapped out of just as Minseok had instructed.

If nothing else went right today, Luhan thought, at the very least they could be proud of Baekhyun.

It was halfway through the ninth competitor that Luhan spotted Minseok sitting over the far side of the rink, beside the stands in an alcove leading to a fire exit. Wrapped up in a hoodie with a blanket over his lap, his face hidden by a mask under his sunglasses and baseball cap, Luhan couldn’t be sure it was him - but then, that was the point. Minseok had been careful to cover every identifying tattoo; he was even wearing his fingerless gloves, the ones he used when going out for walks. Sitting motionless in his wheelchair in the shadows, he was practically invisible. If Luhan hadn’t been looking for him, his eyes would have just slid right past.

Standing rinkside as the ninth skater came off, Luhan gave Kris a bro hug.

“Go hard, dude,” he murmured. “This is it.”

“Thanks.” Kris gave Luhan’s hand a final squeeze and stepped into the rink.

It took Kris all of three flips to wipe out. He overshot a jump and came down on the edge of the ramp, tumbling down and landing on his side on the concrete. Luhan swore and took an aborted step forward, his heart hammering against his ribs. There had been an ominous _crack_ when Kris landed, and Luhan wasn’t sure whether it had been from the ramp or Kris’s arm.

After a second Kris pushed himself up to his knees. He was breathing hard, but didn’t seem to be in too much pain as he stood to the encouraging cheers of the crowd. He paused for a moment to make sure his pads were still on, then took off again, slower at first before building up speed for the next grind. While he did not attempt any more flips, he did manage a spin, and finished with his usual flourish.

When Kris came off at the side of the rink, Chanyeol was waiting beside Luhan to wrap him up in a big bear hug.

“Good job, buddy,” he said. “You did really well.”

“I think my wrist might be broken,” Kris replied.

“Oh, shit.”

Luhan had to let Chanyeol take Kris to the medics on his own. The eleventh skater was already two flips in, and Luhan was deeply regretting being there to see her. Nothing like watching someone who was intimidatingly good to psych you up for your own performance.

Luhan tried to find something to critique about her, tried to see her through Minseok’s eyes. She was definitely energetic, throwing herself into every spin with the kind of reckless enthusiasm that could only come with supreme confidence. Luhan couldn’t tell if her landings were actually sloppy, or if she was just moving too fast to touch the ground.

When she finished to deafening applause, Luhan took a last sip of his water and squared up to enter the rink. Okay. Moment of truth.

She offered him a high-five as she stepped out of the rink. “Good luck, dude!”

“Thanks.” Luhan tried to hoist some cockiness back into his smile and accepted her disconcertingly strong bro hug.

He stepped past the barrier and let the gate close behind him. He checked his pads, made sure his skates were on tight. Then he straightened up and looked across the rink. Ahead of him was Minseok in his alcove. Behind him were Yixing and the crew. Luhan took a deep breath and let his hands lift to the buttons of his plaid shirt. One by one, he undid each button. When the last one popped free he stood with the two sides of the shirt clutched in his hands and slowly turned around.

He had been meaning to show Minseok tonight, either in celebration or determination to do better, but this was even better. This was his cocoon shedding.

With his back to Minseok, his eyes on Yixing and Baekhyun, Luhan removed his shirt. He draped it over the barrier, straightened his tank top, and lifted his arms to the side so that Minseok could see. Up one arm and down the other, in plain, bold ink: NO WINGS NEEDED.

Luhan turned back around. For the first time since Luhan had noticed him, Minseok had moved - one gloved hand was now covering the front of his mask. Luhan turned his attention away from Minseok and began his first line.

It all seemed to go so fast. Luhan rocketed over grinds and spins, and before he knew it he was approaching his last jump. This was it. No turning back now.

As he threw himself into a 900, Luhan thought about flying - about motorbikes and ocean dreams and the feeling of holding Minseok in his arms and tumbling over the edge together. He imagined Minseok sitting on the edge of the half-pipe, cheering him on as he rushed past.

Just for a second, Luhan truly flew.

He touched down on an angle, skidding against the ramp for a terrifying moment before managing to regain his balance, and he mentally kicked himself for daydreaming. He’d probably lost a fair few points for that fumble. The crowd seemed to be encouraging anyway, screaming and cheering as Luhan skated off and nailed a final grind combo before skidding to a finish in the centre of the rink.

Breathing hard, hands sweating, eyes watering, Luhan turned around to look at Minseok. He wasn’t there. Luhan turned in a slow circle with his heart jackhammering in his throat and let out a vocal breath of relief when he located Minseok at the other end of the rink, in front of the stands where Baekhyun and the others sat.

As he skated towards him, Luhan glanced up. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were hollering through cupped hands, Kris pumping one fist in the air as the other sat bandaged and iced in his lap. Yixing looked like he might explode with pride. Of the four of them, only Baekhyun seemed to have noticed Minseok waiting for Luhan at the barrier.

“ _What the hell was that?_ ” Minseok’s mask was pulled down under his chin, and he ripped his sunglasses off as Luhan came to a stop in front of him. “What the _fuck_ was that, Luhan? That wasn’t a 900!”

Luhan felt his face fall. “Did I not get around?” He knew it. He hadn’t been concentrating, and he’d under-rotated the spin.

Minseok was staring at him incredulously. “Luhan. You just did a fucking 1260.”

“… Oh.”

Not under-rotated. Over-rotated. Enough to complete a whole extra spin.

“Oh,” Minseok echoed. “You- oh my god.” He yanked his mask off completely and began to stand from his chair.

“What are you doing?” Luhan scrambled to try and push him back down as the blanket fell from his lap. “People are going to recognise you!”

“I don’t care.” Minseok pushed his hood back and dropped his hat to the ground, and Luhan registered a moment of surprise that his hair was bright blue.

“Minseok-”

“What kind of asshole values his legacy over his boyfriend?”

_Boyfriend-_

Luhan’s heart clenched tight. The crowd was murmuring around them, whispers of _who_ and _is that_ and snippets of _Kim Minseok, that’s Kim Minseok_ , but Luhan let them go, because Minseok’s arms were around his neck, pulling him closer across the barrier.

Minseok kissed him like it was the very first time, eager and anxious. He kissed him like this was a cliff they were jumping off together, unsure if they would fall or fly.

Luhan didn’t need wings to fly. All he needed was this.

“I’m so proud of you,” Minseok whispered against his lips, and kissed him again.

This time Luhan wasn’t quick enough to press down the feeling before it tumbled from his mouth.

“I love you,” he blurted out.

He snapped his mouth closed too late and felt his cheeks begin to flame, but Minseok was smiling, all teeth and gums and his eyes crinkled almost shut.

“Oh, good.”

Luhan gaped at him. “Wha-?”

“You’ve said it in your sleep a couple of times,” Minseok explained. “I was hoping you were talking to me.”

“Oh.” Luhan couldn’t imagine what dreams those might have been, but neither could he imagine them involving anyone other than Minseok. “Uh. Yeah.”

Minseok laughed and kissed him one more time. “I love you too. And I am so, so proud of you.”

He leaned back and gestured towards the gate, but Luhan just swung a leg over the barrier. As he climbed over, he looked up at the stands, suddenly remembering about the others. Chanyeol and Kris looked bewildered; Baekhyun had both hands over his mouth. Yixing, Luhan realised with a shock, was openly sobbing, smiling and crying and hugging himself as he looked down at them. Luhan tried to put _are you okay?_ into a smile, and Yixing just beamed back at him before giving an embarrassed sort of laugh and lifting one shaking hand to cover his eyes.

“I’m so proud of you,” Minseok repeated, when Luhan was on the right side of the barrier. “Luhan, you just won, I-”

“What? No, you don’t know that, don’t get my hopes up-”

“Listen to me.” Minseok took him by the shoulders. “No-one else held a candle to you today. You just won _East Xtreme_.”

That seemed to be the general conclusion. As they found a spot in the front row where Luhan could sit and Minseok could park in front of him, they were approached by a teenage boy - a tall, gangly kid with floppy hair and a shy smile. Luhan recognised him as one of the new kids at the rink, the ones who skated around the very edges and seemed to shy away from the older skaters in awe. Now he stood just at the edge of Luhan and Minseok’s conversation as if scared to butt in.

“What’s up, dude?” Minseok said.

The boy opened his mouth and seemed to take a moment to summon the necessary courage to say, “Are you Kim Minseok?”

Minseok nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“C- can I have your autograph?”

Minseok was silent for a second, and Luhan was almost scared he might say no. Then he smiled.

“Of course, man.” He took the notebook and pen the kid offered him. “What’s your name?”

“Uh, Ki- Kim Jongin.”

“Kim Jongin…” Minseok began to write.

“My friends call m- me Kai,” Jongin added, his cheeks turning a little pink.

“Kim Kai,” Minseok amended. “Are you a skater?”

Jongin nodded. “Y- yeah, I just star- s- started this year.”

“Cool!” Minseok flashed him a grin and signed his name with a scribble. “There you go, dude. Good luck with your skating.”

“Thank you,” Jongin mumbled. His face was bright red as he turned to Luhan. “You’r- y- you’re Luhan. I pr- practise at Zhang Yixing’s rink.”

“Yeah, I know,” Luhan smiled. “I’ve seen you there.”

“ _Oh my god_.” This seemed to be too much for Jongin, and his voice whispered off into silence as he thrust his notebook at Luhan.

“Oh-” Luhan took the book, surprised. “You want my autograph too?”

Jongin nodded furiously.

“Uh. Wow.” Luhan looked down at the page. He’d never given an autograph before. What did one write?

He hesitated, then wrote _to Kai, good luck!_ and signed it _Luhan_.

Minseok leaned forward to mutter in his ear. “Give it two years, your signature’s just gonna be _LH_. Your hand cramps up _real fast_ when you have to write your whole name each time.”

Luhan grinned and handed the notebook back to Jongin, who took it with a barely audible “thank you.”

“Did you compete today?” Luhan asked him.

Jongin shook his head. “I can’t do an- any cool flips like you. I just do simple sp- spin- s- _spins and grinds_.”

“Hey,” Luhan shrugged, “simple’s fine. You can place with the easiest moves as long as you do them well.”

Jongin made a noise like a mouse being squashed. He turned as if to scurry back to his seat, then wheeled back and stumbled over his feet to face Minseok.

“Um, my friend wan- wants to know-” he paused and glanced down.

Luhan could see Minseok preparing the words _motorbike accident_ , but Jongin’s question was different.

“What do you d- do now that you’ve stop- pp- st- now that you’re not sk- skating anymore?”

Visibly surprised, Minseok hesitated. After a glance at Luhan he said carefully, “I play basketball.”

“Oh. Cool. Thanks.” Jongin gave them both a little wave and scuttled away to the other end of the rink.

For a minute neither Luhan nor Minseok spoke. Then Minseok ducked his head.

“That was-” he broke off and pressed the back of his fingers to his eyes.

“Woah, are you okay?” Luhan leaned forward to put an arm around Minseok’s shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I just-” Minseok sniffed and cleared his throat. “I- I still have fans.”

Luhan gave a surprised laugh. “Of course you have fans! What do you think _I_ was?”

“Yeah, I know,” Minseok cleared his throat again and straightened up. “I’m just… he didn’t mention it. I didn’t expect him not to mention it.”

His eyes were a little bright as he looked at Luhan, but his smile was real, and his fingers were firm as he squeezed Luhan’s hand.

“Oh, babe.” Luhan tucked a stray lock of Minseok’s hair behind his ear and was halfway forward to kiss him when he remembered. “I- I mean- I’m sorry-”

Minseok raised an eyebrow at him. “Didn’t I already tell you I liked that one?”

“Wha- I thought you meant-”

“I think it’s adorable,” Minseok said. “I don’t know why you don’t say it more often.”

“Oh.”

“You fucking cutie.” Minseok was still laughing as he kissed him.

When Luhan turned to glance back up the stands a moment later, he found Baekhyun staring at him. Luhan gave him a wide grin, and Baekhyun returned it with a shake of his head. Luhan couldn’t tell what he was mouthing, but he was pretty sure he caught the words “you motherfucker” in there somewhere. He stuck his tongue out and returned to Minseok.

“We’re gonna have some explaining to do later, aren’t we?” Minseok smirked.

“Ehh.” Luhan shrugged. “Baekhyun might kick my ass. It’s okay.” He scratched a hand through Minseok’s hair. “You turned blue.”

“Yeah.” Minseok’s smile was soft and content. “It was time for a change.”

-

The points were in. Luhan bounced on the balls of his feet, barely able to look at the board as the title of their event flashed up. Beside him, Baekhyun was muttering a steady stream of _“not last, not last, not last.”_

“Don’t worry, man.” Kris gestured towards his sprained wrist. “I’m pretty sure that spot’s mine.”

Baekhyun gave a nervous little laugh and covered his eyes as the placings began to appear.

_THIRD PLACE_

Luhan held his breath.

_Byun Baekhyun_

“ _What?_ ”

“Yes!”

“FUCK YEAH, BAEKKIE!”

Baekhyun’s jaw dropped. He stared up at the board like he couldn’t believe his eyes, mouth open, oblivious to the congratulatory slaps raining down upon his shoulders.

“I placed,” he whispered. “Oh my god. _I placed_.”

Luhan threw his arms around him. “Hell yeah, you did!”

Baekhyun seemed to have gone into shock. “ _I can’t believe I actually placed_.”

 _SECOND PLACE_ , the board announced. Luhan steeled himself. Maybe this would be him. Second would be good. Second would be fantastic.

_Amber Liu_

A cheer went up over the other side of the crowd. It was the eleventh skater, the girl who had wished Luhan luck on his way into the rink. She let out a whoop and pumped her fist into the air.

_FIRST PLACE_

Luhan closed his eyes. He didn’t want to look, didn’t want to see someone else’s name up there. He wasn’t sure which would be worse - his own disappointment, or the knowledge that he had let Minseok down.

For one tense second, the entire rink was absolutely silent.

“ _FUCK YEAH!_ ”

Kris’s shout startled Luhan’s eyes open. He looked up at the board, blinked, squeezed his eyes shut and looked again.

_Lu Han_

Lu. Han. Him. His name. His name in first place.

First place. Winner. Winner of the competition.

He’d just won _East Xtreme_.

“Holy shit.”

A dozen people were descending on him with hugs and high fives, but Luhan turned and looked for Minseok. Sitting in the front row next to Yixing and Chanyeol, with a smile a thousand miles wide, he was stamping his foot against the floor like two hands weren’t enough to clap with. Luhan raised a hand and pointed at him, and that was all he did, but he hoped Minseok understood.

_You. You won this with me. I could not have achieved a fraction of this without you._

Minseok closed his eyes, and his smile stretched so wide Luhan thought it might break his face. Yes, Luhan thought, he understood.

-

After prizegiving, Luhan took a second to look at what he’d won. There was the trophy, big and gold with his name engraved on the baseplate, as well as a bag of gear from the competition’s sponsors. More incredible, though, was the check, which Luhan had to read a couple of times to be sure it was real.

There were four zeroes in that number. This was more money than he’d ever had in his life.

Luhan turned and walked away from the winners’ area towards the stands, where Minseok and Yixing had their heads together in conversation.

“Yixing.”

“Luhan,” Yixing turned to smile at him. “Congratulations-”

“Here.” Luhan handed him the check.

Yixing baulked. “Wh- what-?”

“For you.”

“No, Luhan, I can’t take-”

“You said the rink ran off Minseok’s winnings,” Luhan said. “Well, now it runs off mine.” He pushed the check into Yixing’s hand, then shoved his own hands into his pockets so that Yixing couldn’t give it back to him.

Yixing looked torn. He looked down at the check, then at Luhan, and finally at Minseok.

“I believe fifty percent was your usual cut for training and practise venue back in the day,” Minseok said. “Seems fair to me.”

Luhan shrugged. “Sure, if you only want half.”

Yixing stared at the check in his hand as if eternal damnation rested on his decision of whether or not to take it.

As he was deliberating, Baekhyun bounded up to them with Chanyeol and Kris on his heels.

“Hey, Xingy Xing! _Holy prize money, Batman!_ I can pay my membership now.”

And just like that, Yixing seemed to make up his mind. With a glance at Luhan, he folded the check into his pocket.

“No,” he said to Baekhyun. “No more memberships.”

“What?” Baekhyun looked stricken. “You’re not closing the rink, are you?”

“No, no, of course not,” Yixing hastened to reassure him. “But I’m not charging anymore. No more monthly membership fees.”

“Oh, phew,” Baekhyun clapped a hand over his heart. “For a second I thought you were gonna close it down, and I was about to lose my shit, I was like _oh no, where would we go, the rink’s the heart of the community!_ Like, most of us live our lives at the rink, we don’t really have anywhere else to go, you know? I- woah, woah, dude, are you alright?”

Yixing had burst into tears, gasping ugly sobs as he pressed his hands to his face in a vain attempt to control himself.

“Oh my god.” Baekhyun was bewildered. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Minseok said. “He’s just overwhelmed.”

“I’m sorry, this is stupid,” Yixing sobbed. “I- I’m just so- so _proud_ of you all. I r- remember when you first came to the- the rink, you were so _small_ and you were wobbling around on your sk- skates, and _now_ look at you, I’m j- just so proud of you and I don’t d- deserve you all-” he dissolved into unintelligible tears as Baekhyun pulled him into a hug.

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun said, making a helpless face at Luhan over Yixing’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Xingy, we love you.” This only made Yixing cry harder, weeping into Baekhyun’s shirt as Baekhyun patted his back.

As Baekhyun clumsily comforted Yixing, Minseok tapped Luhan’s hip to get his attention and beckoned for him to lean down.

“Don’t think you’re going to be supporting the rink all by yourself,” he said into Luhan’s ear.

Luhan leaned back to frown at him. “Why not?”

Biting his lip to hold back a smile, Minseok unlocked his phone. “I was gonna wait until later to tell you, and I’m not gonna tell anyone else right now because I don’t want to steal your thunder, but…” he handed the phone to Luhan.

It was a text message.

_Hey KimMin, I just heard the news! Welcome to the team!_

Luhan looked up at Minseok.

“What-?”

Minseok leaned forward in his wheelchair.

“I signed with the national men’s wheelchair basketball team yesterday morning.”

“Oh my god.” Luhan’s jaw hit the floor. “No way! Are you fucking with me right now?”

Minseok shook his head, his grin wide and mischievous.

“Pretty important errands I’ve been running, huh?”

“Holy shit.” Luhan shoved Minseok’s phone into his own pocket and grabbed Minseok around the waist, scooped him up out of his chair and into his arms. “ _Holy shit!_ Babe! That’s so exciting!”

Minseok giggled as Luhan spun him around, his leg hooked over Luhan’s hip and Shorty pressing at his waist.

“Put me down! You’re making a scene, I’ll have to tell everyone at this rate!”

“Don’t care.” Luhan kissed him, long and deep, clutching him close with one hand on Minseok’s back and the other under his thigh. “My boyfriend’s a pro baller, I wanna tell the world!”

“Okay but seriously,” Minseok laughed, “it hasn’t been officially announced yet, so _shhh_.” He silenced Luhan with a kiss.

“GROSS, GET A ROOM.”

Luhan looked over his shoulder at Kris, who was gagging exaggeratedly behind Chanyeol’s back.

“You’re one to talk, Mr. Kinky Threeway.”

“Hey.” Kris held up a defensive hand. “I don’t get involved in the kinky stuff. I just _enable_ the kinky stuff.”

“You _could_ get involved in the kinky stuff if you wanted,” Chanyeol pointed out.

Kris didn’t even blink. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

Minseok snorted and slithered out of Luhan’s arms to sit back down in his chair.

“Hey,” he said, “what time do you think it’ll be by the time we get home tonight?”

Luhan shrugged. “I dunno, probably about nine?”

“Is that too late for a party at my place?”

“A- really?”

Minseok shrugged.

“What else is my fucking huge house good for? We’ll have a few drinks to celebrate. Just for a couple hours, and then I’ll kick everyone out because I’m a grumpy old man.”

Luhan raised an eyebrow. “Am I allowed to stay the night?”

Minseok’s answering grin was wicked. “You are _expected_ to stay the night.”

“Take it to the DMs, guys,” Baekhyun said. “No foreplay in front of the children. And by children I mean Kris.”

“ _You know what, Baek-_ ”

Luhan left Kris to wrestle Baekhyun into a headlock with his good arm. Leaning down, he cupped Minseok’s face between his hands and kissed him, gentle and sweet.

“Hey babe?”

“Yes, darling?”

“I need a cup of coffee before the drive home.”

Minseok smiled. “Me too. There’s a nice little cafe down the road if you want to go check it out.”

“Sounds good to me.” Luhan pecked another kiss to Minseok’s lips. “Let’s get out of here.”

As he followed Minseok out the front door of the stadium, Luhan spread his arms to catch the air. The afternoon sun was warm on his skin, and despite the heavy bag of gear slung across his shoulders, he had never felt lighter. With victory behind him and Minseok ahead, Luhan skipped across the plaza. Every step felt like flying - no wings needed.


	2. No Wings Needed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Subsequent to the end of the Luminfics festival I wrote an epilogue, which got so out of hand that it kind of turned into more of a part two. Here it is.

Before the plane had even finished taxiing, Luhan’s phone was in his hand. He waited, thumb poised over the screen, for the painful few seconds until the captain turned off the seatbelt sign. While everyone around him was jumping up and grabbing their bags, Luhan was turning off airplane mode and opening Google.

“Come on…” he jiggled his knee, trying not to squirm with impatience.

Amber peered over his shoulder at the screen. “Is it loading?”

“Yes. Slowly. Come _on_ -”

The page loaded.

“Holy shit-”

Luhan gave an excited squeak and turned to hug Amber.

“Oh my god!”

“ _Yes!_ ”

Luhan scrolled excitedly through the search results, skimming through points and plays, until the aisle of passengers began to move. Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he scrambled up, grabbed his bag, and followed Amber off the plane.

When they reached the arrival gate, Luhan stopped just short of the door.

“Let me take your bag,” Amber suggested.

Luhan hesitated. “I smell like an airplane.”

“He doesn’t care, you dork, just _go_.”

Luhan gave her a giddy grin and stepped through the door.

The arrival hall was crowded, and Luhan scanned the throngs of people with his heart in his throat. People, so many people, all of them ordinary and none of them his.

There. At the end of the row of waiting families, with his hands on his wheels, a tuft of green hair sticking out from under his eternal beanie, his eyes lighting up as he saw Luhan see him-

Luhan let out a squeal and took off across the hall at a sprint. Minseok pushed himself forward, out of the crowd of people, and held out his arms for Luhan to throw himself into.

“You won!”

“ _You_ won!”

The back of Minseok’s chair hit the pillar behind them, but he didn’t seem to feel it. He wrapped his arms around Luhan and pulled him properly into his lap so he could squeeze the life out of him.

“You were _amazing_ ,” he gasped. “You absolutely _nailed_ that 1260, I was on the edge of my seat and you fucking _landed_ it-”

“You were watching?”

“As much as I could. I was streaming it on my phone in the locker room, I just about missed warmup - but I saw most of it, and you were incredible. I wanna watch the whole thing again when we get home. You saw our game?”

Luhan shook his head. “No, I didn’t have international data, and by the time I got wifi it was at the airport and we were checking in-”

“Then how’d you know we won?”

Luhan grinned into Minseok’s shoulder. “I Googled it as soon as we landed.”

“Of course you did.” Minseok laughed and clutched him closer with his face in Luhan’s hair. “Baby, you’re world champ. I’m-” he broke off and made a noise of inarticulable pride. “Next year I’m going to be there in person to see you do it again.”

He kissed Luhan’s head, then let go so he could climb to his feet as Amber came sauntering up behind him.

“Hey, Min!”

“Amber, hey. C’mere, girl.” Minseok lifted an arm, and Amber leaned down to accept his bro hug. “You did really well.”

She shrugged. “I did okay.”

“You had a really solid run,” Minseok insisted. “And besides, you were up against some pretty daunting competitors. Like this fucker.” He jabbed a finger in Luhan’s direction. “Fourth place isn’t too shabby.”

Amber grinned and shrugged again, cockier this time. “Top fifty percent.”

“Atta girl.”

As they loaded their bags into Minseok’s van in the parking lot, Minseok nudged Amber in the hip.

“Do you want to come over for coffee before I drop you home?”

“Uh… yeah, sure!” She nodded. “I’m supposed to be meeting up with Krystal and Victoria later, but I can come over for a bit.”

“Awesooome.” Minseok hefted his wheelchair into the back of the van and slid into the driver’s seat.

All the way home Minseok chattered happily, telling them about last night’s game and how now that they’d won this home game they’d be on their way overseas for the next one. Amber jumped in with questions here and there, quizzing Minseok about rules and plays and exactly how easy it was to snatch the ball out of someone else’s lap without hitting them in the crotch.

Luhan let them talk, content to stare out the window as they roared along the highway. It was good to be home, amongst comfortable scenery and familiar streets. He couldn’t wait to go back to the warehouse rink tomorrow morning and skate with Baekhyun again.

When they pulled into the driveway Minseok threw the van into park in front of the garage.

“Home sweet home. Lulu, you wanna get the door for me?”

Luhan nodded and went to hold the front door for Minseok as he wheeled himself up the concrete ramp and into the hallway. 

“Thanks, darling.” Minseok blew a kiss up at Luhan. “Can you go turn the coffee on? I just gotta go to the bathroom.”

“Yeah, sure.” Luhan turned and led Amber down the hall to the kitchen door, which he threw open.

There was a split second where Luhan blinked in the sudden flood of sunlight, and then he gasped. 

It wasn’t a party, per se. There were no balloons, no drinks, no pizza or bowls of chips. Instead, filling the kitchen and dining room was every single one of Luhan’s closest friends. 

“Oh my god-”

“ _YEEEE, LUHAN!_ ” Baekhyun slid off Kris’s lap and skittered across the room towards him.

“What the hell-?”

Baekhyun grabbed Luhan and hugged him off his feet. “My boy’s a world champion! I might cry.” He snuffled his face into Luhan’s neck and squeezed him tighter until Luhan thought his eyes might pop out of his head. 

As Baekhyun set him back on his feet, Amber let out a squeal and pushed past them.

“ _What are you doing here?_ ”

She ran to hug a group of girls whom Luhan recognised from past competitions: a pair of skateboarders named Luna and Sulli; Krystal, a longboarder; and Victoria, an older inline skater from Amber’s home rink who used to compete against Minseok.

Krystal laughed as Amber tackled her backwards onto the table. “We’re here to celebrate with you!”

“Minseok got in touch with me,” Victoria added. “I’m so proud of you, girl.”

“I only placed fourth-!”

“Okay!” Minseok rolled into the kitchen and came to a stop next to Luhan. “I imagine you’re wondering why I gathered you all here today.”

“To get drunk!” Chanyeol yelled.

“That comes later,” Minseok smirked. “We are here today because we have two champions in our midst.” He nudged Luhan’s hip. “First off, I’m pleased to announce, even though you already know because you _better_ have been watching the livestream - after two years of trying, Luhan has finally unseated Mark Tuan to claim the gold medal at _World Xtreme_.”

Cheers and whistles greeted this, and Luhan couldn’t resist a fist-pump.

“Secondly,” Minseok continued, “and this is important. My girl, the light of my life, the lady I’d marry if I weren’t completely fucking gay.” He paused for laughter. “In all seriousness though, our girl Amber J Liu just became the second-highest-scoring female inline skater in history.”

“What?” Amber’s jaw dropped. “No fucking way. I didn’t even place!”

“Do you know how many women ever _have_ placed?” Minseok said. “One. She’s standing next to you.”

Amber looked at Victoria, who nodded.

“Holy shit.” Amber’s fourth place seemed to reframe itself in front of her eyes.

“You’re making history, sweetheart.” Victoria wrapped her arms around Amber, who buried her face in Victoria’s shoulder.

Amidst the applause and whooping cheers from the rest of the party, Luhan leaned down to speak into Minseok’s ear.

“Did you really organise all of this in the space of twelve hours?”

“No.” Minseok smirked. “We’ve had this planned for weeks.”

“What would you have done if we’d completely bombed?”

Minseok shrugged. “Didn’t even consider the possibility.” He looked up at Luhan, glittering eyes and cheeky teeth. “I had faith in you two.”

“Oh my god.” Luhan didn’t know whether to smack him or kiss him. “You realise you believe in me way more than you should, right?”

Minseok beamed at him. “That’s my job.”

“As my coach, or as my boyfriend?”

“Both.” Minseok hooked a hand around the back of Luhan’s neck and kissed him.

Luhan wanted words that encompassed _I’m the luckiest man alive_ , and _your support means the world to me_ , and _I feel like I can do anything with you by my side_. The only thing that he could bring out of his mouth, though, was a whispered “I love you” into Minseok’s lips, followed by the deepest kiss he was willing to give him in front of this many people.

“Okay.” He disentangled himself from Minseok’s hands and pecked a kiss to the inside of each wrist before letting him go. “I’m gonna go say hi to people.”

“Good plan. I’m gonna make coffee.”

Luhan turned to the kitchen counter, where Kris and Chanyeol were occupying the barstools with Baekhyun standing between them, an arm around each of their shoulders.

“You guys,” he began, and didn’t get any further before Kris reached out and tugged him into a group hug.

“We watched the livestream,” Chanyeol said, ruffling Luhan’s hair.

“You were so good!” Baekhyun enthused.

“Baekhyun cried when you won,” Kris whispered into Luhan’s ear.

“I fucking didn’t, Kris, you liar.”

“He definitely did,” Kris confirmed.

Luhan laughed and hugged them all as close as he possibly could. “Thank you so much. I-” he dropped his head forward to rest on the top of Baekhyun’s head. “I love you guys, I hope you know that.”

“Of course,” Chanyeol said.

“No, I had no idea,” Baekhyun smirked.

Kris just cleared his throat and patted Luhan on the back. “Ditto, dude.”

As Luhan extracted himself from their joint embrace, Minseok’s cousin Jongdae walked past behind him.

“Lu, buddy,” he said, slinging an arm around Luhan’s neck and pulling him into a headlock. “That skate was genuinely the best thing I’ve ever seen you do. I’m really serious, not kidding. Minnie called me afterwards, you would not _believe_ how happy he was - ah, I guess you don’t need to hear it from me though, he’ll tell you himself. But yeah, good stuff, super proud of you, my friend.” He gave Luhan a friendly headbutt and whirled away to go help Minseok distribute cups of coffee.

At the dining table behind Luhan were Tao, Sehun and Soo. Sehun and Tao got up to hug him, while Soo gave him a nod and a rare, approving smile.

“You did well,” he said. “I was impressed.”

And that, Luhan thought, meant as much as any gushing praise.

“Does this mean we have an appointment this week?” said Tao.

“Oh, shit, yes.” Luhan snapped his fingers. “I forgot about that. Yes, five hundred percent, definitely.”

“Awesome.” Tao snapped two finger guns right back at him. “Anything in particular?”

Luhan shook his head. “Nah, I trust you. No wings though.”

“Would I put wings on you?” Tao looked almost offended. “Do you not remember who did your very first tattoo?”

“Just making sure.” Luhan clapped Tao on the shoulder. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

“I’ve got an idea.” Tao’s brain was visibly whirring already, so Luhan left him with another friendly pat and made his way back into the kitchen.

Minseok, Jongdae and Yixing were standing in the corner around the coffee machine, and at the edge of the conversation, Luhan was pleased to see, stood sixteen-year-old Kim Kai.

“Kai, my dude!” Luhan grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around to hug, pounding him enthusiastically on the back.

“Luhan! B- bro. You were f- f- _really_ good.”

“Next year you’ll be there with me, right?” Luhan raised his eyebrows.

“Oh my god. As your sup- p- support crew?” Kai looked slightly overwhelmed by the possibility.

“No, dude.” Luhan almost laughed. “Competing.”

Kai’s jaw dropped. He looked like he didn’t quite know how to process the idea.

“You’ll be seventeen,” Luhan pointed out. “Your first year as a senior.”

“I’m n- not good- d- en- en- enough,” Kai protested.

“Kai. Buddy.” Luhan clasped him by the shoulders. “Yes you are. Or you could be. I’ve seen how hard you’ve worked the past couple of years. I remember when you were a bunny, wobbling out from the handrail for the first time, and the shit you’re doing now? Bro. Give it another year of solid practise like that, I think you could place at _East_.”

“You think so?”

“I really do.” Luhan smiled. “You work hard, kid. There’s nothing you can’t do.”

Kai opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Luhan couldn’t tell if it was just his stutter or if he was truly speechless, but after a second he seemed to give up on trying to speak and just grinned. Luhan squeezed his shoulders encouragingly and slid past him into the circle of Yixing, Minseok and Jongdae.

“Lu,” Yixing said. “Welcome home.”

He held out an arm to give Luhan a half-hug, but Luhan slid his arms around Yixing’s waist and tucked his head under his chin. Yixing made a little noise of surprise, and after a moment wrapped his arms around Luhan’s shoulders.

“We held a viewing party at the rink,” he murmured. “The grommets insisted.” He pecked a gruff kiss to Luhan’s forehead and rested his chin on his hair. “You did good, kiddo.”

“I have money for you,” Luhan said.

“Oh.” Yixing seemed to have forgotten. “Luhan, you don’t have to-”

“I want to.”

Yixing chuckled. “Okay. If you insist.” He stepped back to hold Luhan at arms’ length. “You can’t imagine how proud I am of you, Lu. I’m- god, I just- so much.”

Luhan looked at the brightness of Yixing’s eyes and thought about how there used to be perpetual bags underneath them, how he used to stay up until three in the morning keeping the books for the rink to try and keep it afloat. He thought about the days when Yixing’s apartment was just the storage room of the warehouse, before Minseok put his foot down and sent in the permit applications to build an actual residence off the back of the rink. He thought about Yixing’s insistence that it was all worth it to see new generations of skaters falling in love with the sport.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Xingy,” he said. “None of us could - you’re the heart of the community, man. Without you, we’ve got nothing.”

“Okay, _shhh_ ,” Yixing pulled Luhan’s head in to smother him in his chest, “now you’re just trying to make me cry. Go deliver some coffee.”

Luhan snorted a laugh and poked Yixing in the ribs, then picked up two cups of coffee from the counter and ferried them over to the other side of the room.

“Ooh, boy, is this for me?” Baekhyun held out his hands as Luhan reached over him to set a cup down on the table.

“No, it’s for Victoria,” Luhan said. “Get your greedy goblin hands out of it.”

“I’m wounded,” Baekhyun said.

“I’m sure you can find someone to kiss it better,” Luhan retorted.

“TRUE.” Baekhyun leaned back to sling his arms around Kris’s neck, his legs still draped across Chanyeol’s lap. Kris ruffled an affectionate hand through his hair, and Baekhyun closed his eyes as a satisfied smile dimpled into his cheeks.

Luhan wanted to taunt him for it, but truthfully he’d never seen Baekhyun happier than when he was basking in the mutual adoration of Kris and Chanyeol. They seemed to be constantly falling over themselves to pamper him, and Luhan would almost believe Baekhyun were playing them off against each other if it weren’t for the way Chanyeol’s little finger was intertwined with Kris’s where their hands rested on the table.

“You guys are gross and disgusting and you need to get out of my house,” Luhan said, and grinned when Baekhyun stuck his tongue out.

“Is this even your house though?” Chanyeol pointed out.

“Well I _live here_ , so close enough.” Luhan prodded Chanyeol’s shin with his toe.

Baekhyun retracted his tongue enough to smirk at him. “Yeah but it isn’t _your_ house is it, HEY MINSEOK CAN I MAKE OUT WITH MY BOYFRIENDS AT YOUR PARTY?”

Minseok craned his neck to look over from the kitchen. “Not on my _fucking table you animals_ , Jesus Christ, the spare room is _right there_.”

Baekhyun made a loud noise of inarticulate protest until Chanyeol shushed him with a thumb over his mouth.

“You are _discriminating against threesomes_ ,” he mumbled.

“Pretty sure I’m just discriminating against excessive PDA, but okay.” Luhan patted Baekhyun on the head. “You want coffee?”

“Yes please.” Baekhyun perked up. “Thank you Lu, I love you.”

“I know you do.” Luhan gave his head a last pat and went to collect another cup.

-

It was later, almost heading into the evening, when Minseok rolled to a stop next to Luhan where he sat chatting to Victoria and Kris.

“Lu, darling,” Minseok murmured, plucking at Luhan’s sleeve. “I need to go get something from the bedroom. Can you help me?”

Luhan frowned. “Since when do you need help getting up the stairs?”

Minseok’s lip slid into the edge of a pout. “I’m tired.”

“Oh, okay.” Luhan got to his feet. “Sure thing, babe.”

At the foot of the stairs Minseok parked his wheelchair and hauled himself upright. With a breath and a sigh, he began hopping up the stairs, four or five hops at a time and then a rest before beginning again. Luhan stayed close behind him with a hand hovering under Minseok’s elbow, ready to catch him if he should fall, but Minseok seemed steady as ever. When they reached the top of the stairs Minseok took Luhan’s hand and gave him a squeeze of thanks as they headed into the bedroom.

“Whew.” Minseok flopped backwards onto the bed and panted for a second before sitting up and beginning to rummage through the bedside table. “I can’t wait to sleep tonight.”

Luhan gave a snort of laughter. “Me too. I’m jetlagged as fuck, I have no idea what time it feels like but I know it’s late.”

“I’ll send everyone home soon,” Minseok promised. “You and I can have a quiet dinner and go to bed early.”

“Sounds good.” As Minseok searched through his bedside table, Luhan turned away and looked at the photos lining the top of the dresser. Beside Minseok’s photos of himself with Yixing and Jongdae, there were a few other pictures - a Christmas photo of Minseok, Luhan, Yixing and Jongdae; Luhan and Minseok at _World Xtreme_ last year, where Luhan had narrowly missed out on third place; Amber, Chanyeol and Kris in costume two Halloweens ago; the oldest photo Luhan had of himself, Baekhyun and Kris, when they were seventeen and newly friends; and at the very end of the row, a picture of Luhan and Baekhyun holding their medals at the very first _East Xtreme_ Luhan had ever competed in. A timeline of memories, of friendships, of moments big and small that had made them all who they were.

“Can you believe it’s been two and a half years?” Minseok said.

Luhan turned around to look at him. “Has it been that long already?”

Minseok nodded. “You were only just twenty-one when we started dating.”

“Wow. Yeah, I guess you’re right. It feels like yesterday.”

“Yeah.” Minseok gave him a little smile. “You know… every day, I make myself find something about you that I love.”

Luhan blinked at him. “Huh?”

“Not because I have to remind myself to love you!” Minseok hastened to add. “Just because… I don’t ever want it all to fade into the background.” He tilted his head to the side as if considering Luhan from head to toe. “I don’t ever want to forget that I love every single part of you, so I pick something different to notice each day.”

It was far and away the sweetest thing Luhan had ever heard. Minseok’s eyes were soft, his smile quietly content, and Luhan had to swallow down the lump of emotion in his throat.

“What are you noticing today?” he asked.

“The dimple in your chin when you smile,” Minseok said, entirely unselfconscious. “There it is. That one.”

Luhan touched a hand to his chin and tried to wrestle the grin off his face.

“That’s such a… weirdly specific thing to notice.”

Minseok shrugged. “Well, I’ve already covered your eyes, your lips, the way your hair curls when it gets long, how soft your hands are, that one freckle on your chest, your ‘determination face’ when you skate, the way you hug, that little noise you make when you’re about to come, your shower karaoke…” he spread his hands. “If I don’t look for the little things, I’m gonna have to start repeating.”

Luhan couldn’t help but laugh. “You are literally the sweetest man alive. How long have you been doing this?”

“Since the day I realised I was in love with you,” Minseok said. “Item one: the way you try to cheer me up when I’m in a bad mood.”

Luhan closed his eyes for a moment and let the smile take over his face. “You fell in love with me when you were in a bad mood?”

“Yep.” Minseok leaned back on his hands. “I was sitting there, pissed off and moody and wallowing in self-pity, trying to brand a ball through the side of my house, supremely fucked off at life, the universe and most of all myself - and then the door opens and it’s _this motherfucker_ , and somehow he is _exactly_ who I want to see.”

Luhan felt the surprise on his face, because this sounded familiar, he just couldn’t place when it was-

“And he doesn’t give me any ‘it’s okay!’ bullshit,” Minseok continued, “no ‘everything will be fine!’ or anything like that, he just kisses me, and he offers me coffee, and he drags me out of my own head and back into the real world, and that’s the moment when it all falls into place and I go, _oh. Shit. This boy is the real thing._ ”

“You taught me how to make coffee,” Luhan remembered. “And then we went to the rink and you met Baek.”

“Yep.”

“Holy shit, that was when-?”

“That terrible cup of coffee really stole my heart,” Minseok grinned.

“It was pretty bad, wasn’t it?”

“It was fucking awful.”

Luhan stifled a giggle into the back of his wrist. Talking about it like this made it all seem so recent, and it was surreal to step back and see the intervening years.

“At least I’ve gotten better at making coffee since then,” he said.

Minseok laughed and nodded, and for a moment they just grinned at each other in silence.

“So hey,” Minseok said, squaring his shoulders. “I was wondering… just a casual question, I don’t mind what you say, but… do you want to marry me?”

Luhan was halfway into a shrug, about to say _I dunno, I’ve never really thought about it but probably?_ , when he noticed the tension in Minseok’s jaw, the clench of his fingers on the edge of the mattress betraying his attempt at nonchalance, and realised the question wasn’t hypothetical.

“Wait- is this- are you- are you _proposing?_ ”

Minseok shrugged. “If you want?”

“I-” all of Luhan’s words seemed to have disappeared.

“You can say no, I won’t mind.”

“No, I- yeah-” Luhan shook his head, “yes- _yes._ ”

“Yes?” Minseok’s jaw dropped.

“Yes.”

“Oh my god. Hah!” Minseok smacked his hands over his eyes with a laugh. “ _Oh my god!_ ”

“Oh my god!” Luhan echoed, a little in shock. His heart seemed to have whirled out of his chest and all he could do was follow it, almost tripping over his own feet to throw himself into Minseok’s arms.

“Holy shit,” Minseok cried. “Baby-” he cupped his hands around the back of Luhan’s head and kissed him, ecstatic and clumsy. “Really, are you sure?”

“Yes,” Luhan pushed him down onto the bed and began to pepper his face with kisses. “Absolutely, a hundred percent.”

Minseok’s response got lost somewhere between Luhan’s lips, but Luhan was pretty sure it was just a noise of general excitement.

“And you don’t think I’m too old?” Minseok mumbled.

Luhan pulled away to grab Minseok’s face between his hands and look him in the eyes. “For the last time, dude, _no_.” He kissed the tip of Minseok’s nose, then rested their foreheads together. “I want you - _all_ of you - all thirty years, three limbs, eleven piercings, fifty tattoos - I want all of it. I will always want all of it.”

Minseok closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Luhan, pulling him as close as physically possible and holding him so tightly Luhan wasn’t sure whose heartbeat was whose.

“I love you,” Minseok murmured. “So, _so_ much.”

“I love you too.” Luhan nestled his face into the crook of Minseok’s neck and pressed a kiss to the skin there. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Minseok hummed his agreement and gave Luhan another squeeze.

“Oh, uh, by the way… I have a ring for you, if you want it.”

“Oh my god, really?” Luhan sat up and looked down at him. “You got me a ring?”

“Yeah.” Minseok pushed himself up on one elbow and reached into the open drawer of his bedside table to pull out a tiny ring box. He looked at it for a second, then glanced up at Luhan with a grin. “I’d get down on one knee, but I’m afraid one’s all I’ve got, so…” he sat up and opened the box.

Luhan clapped a hand over his mouth to contain a gasp. Nestled in the silk was a silver ring, three sapphires set flush into the surface of it, the whole thing simple and elegant and so polished that Luhan almost felt a little bit overwhelmed as Minseok slid it onto his finger.

“It’s so beautiful,” he whispered. “Are you sure this is for me?” Next to the smooth silver and bright stones, he felt rough and dirty.

Minseok cupped one hand around Luhan’s face and turned it towards him. “I was trying to find something even half as beautiful as you.”

Luhan wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, so he just ran a finger over the jewelled surface of the ring and said, “Why didn’t you lead with this?”

Minseok shrugged. “I thought it might be too much pressure. I didn’t want to make you feel like you couldn’t say no.”

“Like I would ever do that,” Luhan said.

Minseok smiled down at his lap. “I wanted it to be completely your choice.”

Luhan lifted Minseok’s chin with a finger and pecked the lightest of kisses to his lips. “You will always be my choice.”

“Oh my god, stop, you’re gonna make me cry.”

Luhan laughed and kissed him again. His heart was thrumming so hard in his chest that he thought it might burst out of his throat. Suddenly he was eager to go somewhere, to do something, to begin living this new life as Minseok’s fiancé. 

“Come on,” he said, “let’s go back downstairs.”

“Yeah.” Minseok shuffled to the edge of the bed and stood up. “You wanna make an announcement?”

Luhan considered it, then shook his head. “Nah,” he said. “Let’s see if they notice.”

It didn’t take long. Luhan sidled back into the conversation in the kitchen, and it wasn’t more than five minutes later that he reached over Kris to grab another beer and Baekhyun nudged his elbow.

“Hey, Lu, that’s a nice ring. When did you get that one? I haven’t seen you wearing it before.”

Luhan hadn’t even arranged the right words to reply before Baekhyun frowned.

“Wait.” He held up his hands in L shapes, then twisted them around to see them from Luhan’s perspective. A second later, he gasped and turned back to Luhan with both hands over his mouth. “Ohmygod, _is that what I think it is?_ ”

Luhan couldn’t hold a grin off his face.

“ _Holy shit, Luhan!_ ” Baekhyun grabbed Luhan’s hand and held it up to examine the ring.

“Wait, what, what?” Kris pushed Baekhyun out of the way and snatched Luhan’s hand. “Bro. _Bro_ , is that a fucking-”

“Did you and Minseok just-”

“What’s going on?” Chanyeol emerged from the bathroom and muscled into the group. “I’m hearing sounds of Baek in distress, what’s happening?”

“Look at his _fucking ring_ ,” Baekhyun cried. “My boy over here got _rocks_ on his hand!”

Chanyeol looked confused. “It’s a nice ring. Why, is there something wrong with it?”

Baekhyun smacked him upside the head. “You idiot, it’s an _engagement ring_.”

“Oh. _Ohh_.” Chanyeol gave Luhan a happy nod and two thumbs up. “Nice.”

By this point they were more or less drawing the attention of the entire room, and Luhan thought he should probably clarify the commotion for the people outside their little huddle.

“So, uh.” He turned to the rest of the party and held up his hand. “Minseok and I are getting married.”

The reactions were as explosive as they were instantaneous. Tao shrieked and turned to shake Sehun excitedly; Amber offered Minseok a fistbump and a fervent “yo”; on the other side of the room, Yixing burst into tears.

“Are you serious?” Jongdae exclaimed.

“Yep!” Minseok looked back at him from where he sat leaning back in his wheelchair, his foot propped up on the table, hands clasped behind his head, looking very pleased with himself. “I figured it was time I put a ring on it.”

“Minseok…” Jongdae leaned down to hug him. “Congratulations. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks, man.”

Whatever Jongdae said next was soft enough that only Minseok could hear it, but whatever it was elicited nods and back-slaps and a fervent hug.

“I call best man!” Baekhyun yelled.

Luhan laughed and dragged him in under one arm.

“You think anyone would dare try to challenge you for that?” he said, smacking Baekhyun on the shoulder. “You’d deny them sex for a month.”

“You’re so right.” Baekhyun’s grin was wicked, but the happiness in his eyes was genuine as he ruffled his hand back and forth through Luhan’s hair.

Against the far wall Yixing was still weeping, his fist pressed against his mouth as if he could keep the tears in that way. Luhan slid out of Baekhyun’s hold and went to check on him.

“Hey, Xingy Xing, are you okay?”

Yixing nodded, tears cascading down over his cheeks as he tried to stifle a sob.

“I’m ju- just so h- _happy_ ,” he whimpered. “He de- deserves so much, and I’m s- s- so _grateful_. I hav- have- haven’t seen him this -s happy since before his acc- accident, you have no ide- idea how h- hard it was for him, an- and now he has _you_ and you m- ma- you make him _so happy_ , and I-” he pressed both hands over his eyes and gave a great, shuddering sob. “Thank you, Lu. I’m- I’m so grateful for you.”

Luhan gently pried Yixing’s hands away from his face and gathered him into his arms.

“Thank you for giving him to me,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll take good care of him.”

“I kn- I know you will,” Yixing smothered a wet little laugh into Luhan’s shoulder. “You always do.”

-

Later, after the congratulations and the celebrations and another round of drinks, when the last hugs had been given and everyone had gone home, Luhan and Minseok finally found themselves alone.

“This has been a good day,” Luhan said, leaning forward on the kitchen counter with a lazy smile.

“Yeah?” Minseok, on the barstool adjacent, reached out to brush a lock of hair off his forehead.

“Yeah,” Luhan said. “Full of surprises.”

Minseok just smiled and took both of Luhan’s hands to lace their fingers together.

“What do you want for dinner?”

Luhan shrugged. “Dunno.”

“We can work it out later.”

“Mm.”

Minseok’s hands were warm and soft, a familiar fit against his skin. Every time Luhan remembered the ring on his finger he felt a bolt of excitement through his stomach, a thrill to the future, and with Minseok smiling up at him it was very easy to let that current run through his entire body, lighting up every happy molecule from his ears to his toes.

Even easier was swaying forward into Minseok’s space, pulling him closer with that hold on his hands, and kissing him with his whole heart on his lips.

Minseok gave a happy little hum and disengaged his hands to slide them around Luhan’s waist, which left Luhan’s hands free to wander into Minseok’s hair, pushing his beanie off his head, holding him there and tilting his head to kiss him the way he wanted to. He tugged Minseok closer by the front of his shirt and began working on the buttons, popping them open one by one until he could push the whole thing down over Minseok’s shoulders and run his hands across his chest.

“Talk to me,” he whispered, his fingers tracing up over Minseok’s abs and spiralling around his nipples. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I love you,” Minseok answered without hesitation. “I want you. I want you forever.” He gasped as Luhan tweaked the small silver bar through his right nipple. “I’m so proud that I’m the one who gets to love you, _I_ get to have you, you come home every night to _me_ , no-one else has you this way-” he moaned and rolled his head back. “Luhan-”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Luhan hoisted Minseok off the barstool and onto the counter, where he pushed him down onto his back so he could begin working the fly of his jeans open.

“Fuck, I love it when you get dominant,” Minseok groaned. “Why don’t you jump me like this _every_ night?”

“I can, if you want.” Luhan pulled Minseok’s jeans down over his ass and let them fall down his leg to bunch around his foot while he stretched his briefs aside to pull his cock out. With one hand holding him steady and the other on his nipple piercing, Luhan opened his mouth around the head of Minseok’s cock.

“Hahh-”

Minseok’s hand came to rest on the back of Luhan’s neck. His breath was a hiss in between his teeth, quietly vocal on the exhale, and for a minute that was all the sound in the room as Luhan gently sucked him. Then Minseok sat up, reached down to grab Luhan under the armpits, and hauled him up onto his tiptoes so he could kiss him, licking into his mouth and sucking at his tongue as if desperate to get a taste of himself on Luhan’s lips. Luhan kept his hand moving over Minseok’s cock, and when Minseok broke away with a moan he ducked his head to press open-mouthed kisses to his nipple.

“Oh, baby,” Minseok groaned, his hand sliding into Luhan’s hair, “Luhan, baby, fuck…”

Luhan hummed his agreement into Minseok’s chest. He was achingly hard in his pants now, rutting into thin air at every gasp from Minseok’s lips, and when Minseok used his hold on his hair to drag him up for another kiss Luhan couldn’t help wrapping an arm around him and sliding him forward off the counter, pulling him into his arms and grinding up against his crotch.

“ _Nngg-_ ” Minseok’s fingers dug into Luhan’s shoulders. Denim was the wrong sort of friction, too uncomfortable for any sort of pleasure, and Luhan made a noise of dissatisfaction in the back of his throat.

“Bed?”

Minseok shook his head, then moaned as Luhan began to suck kisses into his throat. “Couch. ’S closer.”

“Mm, yeah.” Luhan hoisted Minseok into a better position in his arms and carried him through into the living room, where he threw him onto the couch. Minseok giggled as he bounced against the cushions and held out his hands for Luhan to climb on top of him.

“C’mere, sexy thing. Lemme see that bod.”

“This bod is dirty and sweaty and probably really smelly,” Luhan said. He’d excused himself to the bathroom during the party to brush his teeth and put on deodorant, but he was still badly in need of a shower after a day of travelling - not to mention the beer Chanyeol had spilled on him.

“Do you think I give a fuck?” Minseok retorted. He slid his hands up under the hem of Luhan’s shirt to feel his abs. “Mmm, dirty and sweaty and _ripped as hell_.”

“Oh my god.” Luhan ducked his head to hide a blush as Minseok traced the contours of his stomach. “Babe, why?”

“Because I love you,” Minseok said.

Luhan couldn’t help but grin. “You _love_ me,” he teased. 

“Yeah, I do.” Minseok lifted his chin. “You know how much I love you?”

“How much?”

Minseok picked up Luhan’s hand and lifted it to his lips to press a kiss to the silver ring. “This much.”

There was that thrill again, an electric current through his stomach, and Luhan pushed Minseok’s hand away so he could knot his fists into his hair and kiss all the breath out of him.

“Mmh-” Minseok rolled his hips up against him, then curled back to give his hands room to begin working Luhan’s belt buckle open. It took him a minute of fumbling, and then Luhan’s fly was popped open and Minseok’s hands were pulling him out of his boxers.

“ _Ah-_ yeah, babe-” Luhan thrust into Minseok’s hand, muttering praise into his mouth as Minseok’s deft fingers stroked over his cock.

“Yeah, you like that,” Minseok said. He broke away from Luhan’s lips and trailed kisses up his cheek to whisper into his ear. “My little hands do _amazing_ things to your cock, boy. I only have to touch you once and you absolutely lose control - just like this.” He ran his thumb under the head and Luhan jerked forward with a whine, grinding down into Minseok’s grip and tugging at his hair with clenched fists.

“Fuck- Minnie-” Luhan pushed back and sat up. “Did we leave condoms down here?”

“You bet we did.” Minseok looked up and down the couch as if trying to orient himself. “This end.”

While Minseok divested himself of his underwear, Luhan dug down the side of the couch to bring up half a strip of condoms and a nearly empty bottle of lube.

“We need to buy more.”

“Buy more? Pfft,” Minseok snorted. “You haven’t opened the bathroom cabinet, have you? I stocked up on that shit, we’ve got enough for a year. There’s like six unopened bottles.”

“Six bottles?” Luhan raised an eyebrow and swept a pointed gaze down Minseok’s naked body. “Okay, so enough for a _month_.”

“Ooh.” Minseok smirked. “Is that a promise?”

“You better hold me to it.”

“You know I will.”

Luhan tore a condom off the strip and shoved the rest back down the side of the couch, then pulled his shirt off over his head and kicked out of his jeans. Minseok watched him, half a smirk still on his face as he stroked a slow finger over the base of his own cock.

“What’s that smug look for?” Luhan laughed as he settled himself back on the couch and pulled Minseok towards him by his thighs.

“You can’t resist me,” Minseok said.

“That’s hardly a victory if I’m not actually _trying_ to resist you,” Luhan pointed out.

“Shut _up_ , let an old man feel sexy, will you?”

“First off?” Luhan uncapped the lube and coated his fingers with it, “You’re not old, stop saying you are. Secondly,” he dropped the bottle onto the floor and nudged Minseok’s leg aside to begin tracing a finger over his hole, “you are categorically one of the sexiest men I’ve ever met, and you fucking know it, you atrocious dickhead.” He pushed his finger inside and held back a grin as Minseok gasped. “You don’t need me to make you feel sexy; I’m pretty sure it’s a standard state of being for you.”

Minseok chuckled, even as his eyes fluttered closed and a little line of pleasure creased through his brow. “Why am I never able to bullshit you anymore?”

“Because I _know you_ ,” Luhan said, leaning forward to nose his way up Minseok’s throat. “And I know when you’re just trying to get a rise out of me.” He took Minseok’s bottom lip between his teeth and nibbled at it for a moment, his teeth clicking against Minseok’s lip stud. “Yet somehow I’m always happy to oblige.”

“Mm, yeah, you are.” Minseok reached down to run a finger up the length of Luhan’s cock. “I’m definitely getting a _rise_ out of you right now.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ- _really,_ Minseok?”

“For real though,” Minseok murmured into Luhan’s cheek, “you always make me feel so sexy. I’m pretty sure you’ll still be making me feel like a teenager when I’m fifty.”

“What, with awkward makeouts and inappropriately-timed ejaculation?”

Minseok pulled back and frowned at him. “Okay, sounds like my teen years were _way_ better than yours.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Luhan laughed. “You were an international skating star. Your teen years were _objectively_ better than literally everyone else’s.”

“I mean _before_ that- oh my god, you know what, let’s talk about this later. You’re killing my boner.”

Luhan laughed and pressed a second finger into Minseok’s ass. A possessive flare burned through his chest as Minseok arched up, his eyes falling closed with the softest murmur of a moan.

Luhan couldn’t help but feel a small amount of pride at the way Minseok responded to his touch. It was like he was always poised on the edge, ready and waiting to go from zero to a hundred at the first caress of Luhan’s hands. This time was no different; Minseok’s body opened easily for him, and it wasn’t long before Luhan was thrusting in with four fingers, stretching and circling and stroking as Minseok bucked back against him, his face turned towards the back of the couch and muffling a whimper into his arm.

“You ready, baby?”

“ _Mhm_.” Minseok’s voice was so tight as to be almost a sob; when Luhan pulled his fingers out and rubbed a comforting thumb over his hole he shuddered and whined into the crook of his elbow.

“Here we go.” Luhan shucked his boxers off and rolled the condom on, then crawled forward to straddle Minseok’s leg, pushing Shorty up towards his stomach to twist him at an angle.

“You’re trying to torture me,” Minseok muttered into his arm.

“Only in the ways you like to be tortured.”

Minseok gave a little laugh, then bit down on a moan as Luhan slid inside with one slow, smooth push.

“ _Ohh- fuck._ ”

Luhan paused to kiss Minseok’s lip out from between his teeth.

“How do you want it?” he murmured, lips dragging against Minseok’s so that they were almost mouthing the words together. “Slow and sweet?” He pulled back and pressed slowly in, and Minseok groaned. “Fast and hard?” He snapped his hips, shunting Minseok an inch or two up the couch and wrenching a cry from his throat.

“Slow,” Minseok gasped. “Slowly, slowly - I want it to last forever.”

“Okay,” Luhan nodded. He gathered Minseok into his arms, then circled his hips and kissed the moan out of his mouth. “Don’t worry, babe. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

For Minseok, he would drain the ocean of forevers.

Luhan took his time, pulling Minseok in and holding him close as he fucked gently into him. Minseok’s skin against his was like a constellation of kisses, the slide of their sweat mirroring the wordless movement of their lips until it felt like Minseok was not just underneath him, not just around him, but an inextricable part of him, pierced through his very core. They moved together, breaking apart and rejoining to each other as they inched incrementally higher, and when Minseok finally came it was not with a scream but with a gasp, a shudder, a cracked moan as he reached down to grab Luhan’s hips and drag him in deeper, stronger, over the edge…

They lay there for a long time, wrapped together in the darkness as the sweat dried on their skin. Luhan listened to Minseok’s breath, his heartbeat, the perfect rhythm of him. The sun and stars inside one man; the whole universe in Luhan’s arms.

He turned his head, kissed Minseok’s temple, lingered there to drown in the soft skin against his lips.

“I want to give you my whole life and then some,” he whispered. “For the rest of eternity, whatever happens, I want to spend it with you.”

Minseok looked up at him, eyes wide and round. For a moment they just stared at each other, and then Minseok breathed a soft “yeah,” and tilted his chin up to kiss his sunrise into Luhan’s smile.

-

“Knees up, knees up! Tuck and spin, come on, you can get higher! Try again- yes, _good!_ ”

Luhan flashed a V sign over towards the side of the rink as he flew past and rocketed over the low ramps.

“Try it one more time!” Minseok called as Luhan approached the half-pipe again.

Luhan threw himself into a spin, knees tucked as tightly as he could get them. He made it around, but the touchdown was wobbly and he had to windmill his arms to keep from falling over.

“Ah, almost,” Minseok said. “Still, it’s better than it was last week.”

“I wanna see if I can get more rotation in there once I’ve got the landing,” Luhan said, leaning on the railing to take his water bottle from Minseok.

Minseok frowned. “There’s no way you can get a whole extra spin into that jump.”

“Not a whole one,” Luhan shook his head. “Just a half.”

“A _half?_ ” Minseok looked incredulous. “What, and come down fakie? You misjudge that and you’ll lose all your teeth.”

“Bro, I can land fakie.”

“ _Basic_ fakie, yeah, but after that many spins? Even _I’ve_ never done that.”

“Even _you_ ,” Luhan smirked. “Even the legendary Kim Minseok, in his glory days-”

“Oh, stop.” Minseok reached over the barrier to smack him in the shoulder. “You’ve made your point. Okay, try it, but _absolutely not_ until you’ve mastered what you’re already doing. I quite like you with teeth.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not stupid.”

“I know, but I worry anyway.”

Luhan rolled his eyes and reached out to ruffle Minseok’s beanie off his head.

“Oi, stop it.” Minseok caught it as it fell and jammed it back over his hair. “Hey, you wanna help me with something?”

“Always. What is it?”

Minseok hopped out of his wheelchair and turned to hoist himself backwards onto the railing. Luhan reached out to steady him so he could swing his leg over the bar, but Minseok suddenly threw his arms out to the side.

“Trust fall!”

“Ack!” Luhan scrambled to catch Minseok as he slumped backwards into his arms. “Why do you keep _doing_ that-”

He froze as Minseok’s foot clattered over the railing and hit the ground.

“Hoo-” Minseok straightened up, let go of Luhan’s arm, then wobbled and grabbed him again. “Eep. Give me a second. My balance isn’t what it used to be.”

Luhan couldn’t tear his eyes off Minseok’s foot.

“Wheels look good on me, huh?” Minseok grinned. “You know, it doesn’t feel as weird as I thought it’d be. It’s actually weird how _not_ weird it is.”

Luhan swallowed hard. “You’re gonna skate?”

“I’m gonna try,” Minseok laughed. “I make no guarantees.”

“How?”

“You’re gonna pull me.” Minseok took Luhan’s hand and gripped it for balance. “Let’s see if I can do a circuit.”

“Oh my god. Okay.” Luhan took a step, and with a gentle tug Minseok came wobbling after him.

“Whee!”

“Dude.” Luhan couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, wait, let’s try it like this.” He turned and offered Minseok both his hands, then checked over his shoulder and began to skate slowly backwards. “Is this okay?”

Minseok nodded, eyes fixed determinedly on Luhan’s shoulders as if trying not to look down. “Wow, I take it back, this is _really_ weird. Go faster, I’m gonna fall over at this pace.”

As they made their way around the rink Minseok seemed to get the hang of being on a skate again. By the time they’d completed one lap he had regained his own balance and Luhan was able to turn and skate beside him, one strong hand keeping him going.

“Bar,” Minseok pointed out as they turned the corner.

“Oh, yep-”

Luhan made to steer them away from the fast approaching rail, but Minseok tugged on his hand to hold the line.

“Wh-?”

Before Luhan could even open his mouth, Minseok let go and jumped.

It was the simplest, most basic grind, but when Minseok landed on the ground at the other end of the rail he was grinning from ear to ear. He wobbled and grabbed at Luhan’s hand again to keep himself upright, then pulled him over to the edge of the rink and skidded into the barrier to stop.

“Still got it,” he laughed, sweeping a stray tuft of hair out of his eyes and tucking it back under his beanie.

Luhan couldn’t resist pulling him into a hug. “You continue to amaze me.”

“Hah. I try.” He slapped Luhan on the back, then jerked his head towards the other end of the rink. “Don’t look now, but Xingy’s crying.”

“What else is new?” Luhan stole a glance and saw that Yixing was indeed watching them from the railing, one hand pressed under his nose as tears dripped from his chin.

Minseok took Luhan’s hand and nudged him in the direction of the stands, and together they skated back over to Yixing.

“You okay there, buddy?”

“Mhm.” Yixing nodded, sending another cascade of tears trickling down his cheeks. “I never thought I’d get to see you skate again.”

Minseok reached up to scratch a hand through Yixing’s hair. “You thought I could stay out of the rink forever? Not a chance.”

“Yup. Yeah. I’m fine.” Yixing pressed both palms over his eyes and sniffed, then flapped his hands at his face as if trying to blow-dry the tears away.

“You’ve just got a lot of emotions, Xingy Xing,” Minseok said. “That’s okay. Let it all out.”

“I’m really proud of you,” Yixing whispered, still blinking rapidly at the ceiling.

“Oh no, I take it back, keep that shit bottled up. You’re embarrassing me.” Minseok laughed. “Is that all it takes to impress you? You need to raise your expectations.”

Yixing gave a wet little laugh and a tiny nod. Minseok leaned over the barrier to hug him, and when Yixing lifted his face from Minseok’s beanie his smile was soft and real. 

-

Rainy Saturdays were made for drinking coffee and not much else. Luhan had his second cup in front of him, a good book in his hand, and he had just slid his bookmark out when he heard a clatter from upstairs, followed by a heavy thud.

“Are you okay?”

Luhan held his breath and strained his ears, but there was no reply. 

“Min?”

Still nothing. Luhan jumped out of his seat, his heart in his throat. This wouldn’t be the first time Minseok had fallen down the stairs, but normally when he did it was in a torrent of swearing, not this terrifying silence. 

Luhan took the stairs two at a time, but Minseok wasn’t lying on the landing, wasn’t sitting halfway up with a scowl and a sprained wrist, wasn’t clinging onto the bannister to stay precariously upright- 

He came to a stop in the bedroom doorway. Minseok was down beside the bed, on his hands and knee and surrounded by the scattered contents of his bedside table.

“Come on,” he was muttering, “you did this for twenty-five years, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten how.”

“What are you doing?” Luhan gasped. “Are you okay?”

Minseok looked up, a frown on his face, and it was only as he lifted his head that Luhan noticed the jarringly even distribution of his balance.

Not hands and knee. Hands and _knees_.

“Can you help me up?” Minseok said. “This thing refuses to co-operate.”

For a second Luhan remained frozen, gaping at him. At the end of Minseok’s shorts, instead of the rounded, colourful end of Shorty, was a black cup, a metal pole, the joint of a mechanical knee-

“What are you doing?” Luhan repeated, crouching down to grab Minseok under the armpits and haul him upright. 

Minseok clutched at Luhan’s arms and shifted his balance back and forth to his prosthetic foot for a moment before looking up at him.

“I want to be bipedal for our wedding.”

“You w-”

“Is it really possible to forget how to walk?” Minseok continued, as if Luhan were not choking on air. “Cause this is way harder than it used to be.”

“Baby,” Luhan whispered, when he finally managed to locate his voice. “Why are you- I- doesn’t it hurt? I thought the leg didn’t fit you properly?”

“It doesn’t,” Minseok said. “And if I tried to wear it for more than a couple of hours I bet it’d hurt like a bitch. But right now it just feels really, _really_ weird. Can I use you for balance? I am _so_ not used to leaning this far to the right.”

“Yeah, yeah-” Luhan shifted his grip to Minseok’s forearms and tried to brace him as he shifted his weight and took a careful step. A second later he caught him as he stumbled over the unwilling foot and crumpled forward.

“ _Rgh-_ ” Minseok kicked forward to set the foot in front of him again. “Come _on_ , you can _do this_.”

“It’s okay, just take it slow.”

Minseok made a noise of begrudging agreement and tested his weight on the prosthesis again. This time it seemed to hold, and after a second of careful measurement he took a step - not even really a step, just a hop forward with his other foot. When he found himself still upright and uninjured, he looked up at Luhan.

“First step in five years,” he whispered, and the sudden force of his smile was so infectious that Luhan found himself beaming back at him, giddy and excited.

“Try another one,” he urged.

It took Minseok five minutes to make the journey from the bed to the door in tiny, halting steps, his hands a vice grip on Luhan’s arms and his eyes locked on his own feet with the kind of laser focus he reserved for tasks of the highest importance - cleaning, exercising, checking Luhan for injuries after a wipeout, and now the slow, methodical progress of one foot in front of the other.

“Okay,” he sighed, leaning forward to rest his head briefly against Luhan’s chest. “Now back again.”

Luhan carefully brushed a wisp of hair off Minseok’s forehead and tucked it under his beanie. “Are you tired?”

“Yep,” Minseok admitted. “C’mon, before I make you carry me.”

They turned around and made the slow, torturous trek back to the bed, where Minseok flopped down and pulled his beanie off to fan his face.

“Fuck,” he muttered, then sat up and reached for his prosthesis, “get this thing off me.” He tugged at the leg until the socket unclipped and slid off, peeled off the skin-tight sleeve, and dropped both pieces unceremoniously on the floor. “Ugh, that’s better.” He lay back on the bed and cupped his hands around Shorty. “God, that felt weird.”

Luhan pulled a sympathetic face and sat down beside him. “Does it hurt?”

“A little bit. It doesn’t fit very well. I’d need more surgery if I wanted to wear it all the time, cause they basically fitted it to me as I was after the accident - or after they did the main operation to tidy everything up - and it’s kind of trial-and-error when it comes to fitting that shit? Like, there’s only so many ways they can do a prosthetic, so if anything has to change, it’s gotta be me.”

“Ouch.” Luhan wrinkled his nose and began stroking a hand through Minseok’s hair. “Are you gonna have the surgery, do you think?”

“No,” Minseok said, immediate and emphatic.

“Really?”

Minseok nodded. “I don’t want it. They _strongly advised_ me to do it, back in the day, and I strongly advised them to fuck the entire hell off.”

Luhan couldn’t help but laugh at that. “How come?”

Minseok looked up at him, still holding Shorty in his hands. There was a considering look in his eyes, as if he were trying to gauge how much he could expect Luhan to understand.

“Do you know how long it took for my body to feel like it was mine again?” He stroked a thumb over the forked lightning of one of the larger scars trailing up his thigh. “Your kind of… personal sense of bodily integrity gets a bit fucked over when you lose a limb like that. Especially when you’ve got no say in it - you just wake up, and it’s gone, and it really screws with your feeling of ownership over your own body. Y’know, the doctors just made that call without asking me, and I get that it was kind of an urgent thing and they couldn’t exactly _wake me up_ to be like ‘hey, you’re gonna be crippled in one of two ways, which would you prefer?’ But I hated it, I hated _them_ , for a long time, for doing that to me. I spent so long hating this-” he gestured to the absence of his leg, “that I forgot I could still love _this_.” He cupped his hands around the end of Shorty again, cradling the scars and the ink and the puckered skin.

“So, you know. At first I didn’t want it because I was just so fucking sick of hospitals and surgeons and I kind of didn’t care whether I ever got out of bed again, much less _walked_. But then, after a while, I kind of decided… this is me. This is who I am, this is how my body is, and I don’t want to fuck around with it any more just to conform to what some doctor thinks my recovery should look like.” He looked up at Luhan again, and this time he was smiling. “I am Shorty. Shorty is me. I own my body, and _I_ decide what I’m gonna do with it. And besides, Tao did such a wonderful job on my flowers, I don’t want them cutting into that and fucking it all up.”

Luhan watched Minseok’s hands trace over the plant that grew from the cracks and gouges at Shorty’s very end. Tao had taken the twisted, broken skin and turned it into a source of life, vines and blossoms sprouting from the darkness and growing across Minseok’s skin, up his thigh and over his hip to peek out above the waistband of his shorts. Minseok was right, Luhan thought. The ink had been designed for him - for his body and his skin - just the way he was. The topography of his body was an integral part of the piece. To alter him now would be to belittle both artist and canvas.

“I was always meant to be on wheels,” Minseok concluded. “I just swapped one set for another, that’s all.”

Luhan smiled and bent to press a kiss to Minseok’s forehead, but as he straightened up he realised there was still something that didn’t make sense.

“If you’re happy with your wheelchair, then why are you trying to use the leg now? I don’t care if you’re in your chair when we get married - that’s how you always are, we’ll just make sure the venue’s accessible and everything-”

“I want to dance with you,” Minseok said.

“You wh-?”

“At the reception,” Minseok said. “I want to be able to dance with you - not the way we dance in the kitchen like dorks, but properly. So I need to be able to use two legs, because for this - on this day, if no other - I want to be able to stand on my own. I want you to have everything you deserve on your wedding day, and that includes a first dance with your husband.”

 _You’re everything I deserve all by yourself_ , Luhan wanted to say, but he knew he couldn’t go down that road without tearing up. “But it’ll hurt you.”

Minseok shrugged. “I’ll take some good painkillers. It’ll be fine.”

“You better not be high during the vows.”

Minseok laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll power through the important bit on the grit and determination of a seasoned sportsman. Then I’ll pop some Vicodin, get drunk at the reception, and bust out my sweet dance moves.”

“Dear god.” Luhan hung his head to hide a grin. “I want a divorce already.”

Minseok smacked him on the leg, then reached up to pull him into an upside-down kiss.

“This is not the hardest thing I will do in my life,” he murmured into Luhan’s lips. “And it’ll be so worth it for the memories we’ll have.”

Luhan hummed a smile and slid his hands into Minseok’s hair. “I can’t wait.”

-

“I wish _I_ had a partner who would learn to walk for me.”

Luhan squinted at Baekhyun over the top of his wine glass.

“Both of your partners are almost _obnoxiously_ able-bodied. God forbid either of them ever _need_ to learn to walk again.”

“Well, yes, but it’s the principle of the thing.” Baekhyun stretched back in his chair. “I’m amazed at the things Minseok does for you.”

Luhan shrugged. “I told him he didn’t need to, but he insisted he wants to. I dunno. It seemed important to him.”

“He wants your wedding to be perfect,” Baekhyun said. “You two are literally relationship goals, it’s adorable.”

“No we’re not, shut up.”

Baekhyun just raised an eyebrow and picked up his phone.

“Okay, so. I sent the save-the-date cards yesterday, so people should get those in the next few days. I put a couple of stationery ideas on our Pinterest for the actual invitations, I dunno if you’ve seen those yet but we can go over that stuff next week or whatever.” He frowned and looked up at Luhan. “I’m still waiting to hear back from the reception about what their accessibility is like. I know Minseok can walk if he needs to, but his teammates can’t, can they?”

Luhan shook his head. “No. Only a couple of them can use crutches and the rest have wheelchairs, so it’s gotta be accessible.”

“I’ll call the venue again tomorrow to hassle them about it.”

“Awesome, thanks.” Luhan slid the memo pad out from under the edge of the fruit bowl to review his own checklist. “I found a good photographer, so we just gotta look at the budget cause she’s a little pricey.”

“How pricey?” Baekhyun flicked over to his budget tab and scratched his chin as he scanned the spreadsheet.

Luhan wiggled his hand. “Not too shocking. I don’t want to try and haggle her down or anything, but if we can save a bit elsewhere that’d probably be good.”

Baekhyun nodded and made himself a note. “I’ll see what I can shuffle around.”

“Sweet.” Luhan slid the pad back under the fruit bowl and leaned back to clasp his hands behind his head. “You’re the best, dude, I don’t know how I’d do this without you.”

“What else is your best man for?” Baekhyun winked at him. “Aside from throwing you a truly _unholy_ bachelor party, holy crap, I gotta get started on planning that shit.”

“The wedding’s not for eight months!”

“Never too early to plan the wildest party of your life,” Baekhyun said. “Ooh, I’ll get Amber to help me. What was the fucking club we went to…?” he buried his nose in his phone again to make another note.

“No strippers,” Luhan said.

“What about _female_ strippers?”

“ _No strippers_.”

Baekhyun sighed. “Fine. You’re no fun.”

Luhan smirked at him. “I get a private strip show every night, you think I want one from some stranger?”

“Ugh, it’s like you’re married already.”

They laughed for a moment, and then Baekhyun sighed.

“I envy you.”

“For what?”

Baekhyun waved a hand at the counter between them, strewn with notes and pictures from Luhan’s planning binder.

“This. The whole wedding thing. I kind of wish I could have that.”

Luhan raised his eyebrows. “You don’t think you’ll ever get married?”

“Well.” Baekhyun’s smile had a sad little twist to it. “I can’t marry both of them, can I?”

“… Oh. Right. Of course.”

“And I’m not gonna just… pick one, or whatever. I know some people do, they marry one partner so at least _someone_ has legal rights, but I just. I can’t do that.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Luhan reached out to give Baekhyun’s arm a comforting pat. “You think they’re it for you, then? Kris and Chanyeol?”

Baekhyun tilted his head to the side, and after a moment a tiny smile dimpled into his cheeks. “Yeah. Yeah, I think they are.”

“Really?” Baekhyun’s growing grin was infectious, and Luhan smiled back at him. “That’s awesome, man.”

“I mean, I think about when it was just me and Channie,” Baekhyun said. “And it was good, we were great as a pair, but when I think about it now… it was never _really_ just the two of us. Kris was always there, we just didn’t realise it. Well.” He laughed. “ _I_ didn’t realise it. I’m at least eighty percent sure Channie had a crush on Kris long before he ever met me and he’s just never admitted it.”

“Kris _was_ always suspiciously eager to help Chanyeol get laid,” Luhan pointed out.

“Oh, with the fights?” Baekhyun laughed. “I remember that! Now they just wrestle for who gets my ass.”

Luhan squeezed his eyes shut. “That. That was way more information than I needed, Baek.”

“Oh. Sorry. It is pretty hot watching them though-”

“ _Stop talking, Baekhyun_.”

-

“Luhan!”

Luhan turned as Kai skated up alongside him.

“Hey bud, what’s up?”

“Can you w- watch me do th- do this jump? I’m not getting en- en- nough rotation, but I can’t work out what I’m- ’m doing wrong.”

“Yeah, go for it.” Luhan skidded to a stop to watch as Kai took a run at the ramp.

 _Good start_ , he noted, _jumping too early, could get more momentum_.

“Tuck your knees!” he called, as Kai flipped into the air.

_Spin too slow, needs to get around more or he’s NOT GONNA MAKE THE LANDING-_

Luhan saw what was about to happen a split second before it did.

“Oh _sh-_ ”

Kai hit the ground in a clatter of skates and wrist pads, the heavy crack of plastic cutting through his cry of surprise.

“Fuck.” Luhan skated over to him and dropped to his knees. “Are you okay?”

“Ow.” Kai started to push himself upright, then gasped and fell back to the ground. “ _Ah- ow, oh no-_ ”

“Hold still, don’t move.”

Luhan stood up and waved towards the corner office to get Yixing’s attention, then pointed down at Kai. Yixing nodded and picked up the intercom to order the other skaters off the rink.

“Okay,” Luhan knelt down next to Kai again. “What hurts?”

“H- here.” Kai indicated his arm, around the giant crack in his wrist guard.

Luhan placed his hand in Kai’s. “Squeeze?”

Kai made an attempt at closing his fingers, then flinched away with a gasp.

“Can’t do it?”

Kai shook his head.

“Okay.” Luhan sat back on his skates. “Does anything else hurt?”

“No.” Kai carefully bent and straightened each leg. “J- just my arm.”

“Everything alright?” Yixing crouched down next to Luhan, first aid kit in hand.

“Broken wrist, I think,” Luhan said. “Can I leave the bike here and take your car to the hospital?”

Yixing nodded. “Of course. I’ll grab you the keys.”

As Yixing scuttled off, Luhan placed a hand under Kai’s arm to help him sit up.

“Let’s get your skates off- no, you just sit tight, I’ll do it.”

“I’m sorry,” Kai said, watching miserably as Luhan unbuckled his skates for him. “I’m d- d- an idiot. I shouldn- n- n’t have tried that jump.”

“Dude, you’re not an idiot. I broke my wrist doing something way simpler once, it’s pretty much par for the course for skaters. I’m impressed you managed to make it what, three years? Three years without a major injury. That’s probably a record around here.”

Yixing returned with his keys and their shoes, and together they helped Kai to his feet and out to Yixing’s Mini.

“Let me know how you get on,” he said, sliding an ice pack onto Kai’s lap to rest his arm on. “I’ll have my phone on me, so if you need anything just give me a yell.”

“Will do,” Luhan said. “We’ll probably just be hanging out in the emergency room for like five hours. Is it okay if I bring the car back later tonight?”

Yixing waved a dismissive hand. “Tomorrow is fine.”

Luhan drove as sedately as possible to the hospital, and they sat in the waiting room until a nurse took Kai away for X-rays to confirm that yes, his wrist was rather badly fractured.

“Man, this s- sucks,” Kai muttered, slumping down in his seat. “Now I’m gon- n- gonna have a- a cast, and I won’t -n’t be able to skate for w- w- _weeks_.”

“Six weeks,” Luhan agreed. “Don’t worry, it’s not as long as it feels like. Just don’t push yourself to get back in the rink before it’s healed.”

“This _sucks_ ,” Kai repeated.

By the time they left the hospital it was almost evening. Luhan helped Kai into the car, where he slouched dejectedly in the seat, cradling his wrist with its blue cast.

“Okay, you want me to drop you home?” Luhan looked over at him as he slid the key into the ignition.

Kai shrugged. “Yeah, I g- I guess.”

“Make sure your parents fuss over you tonight, okay? You’re not allowed to do anything, you’ve gotta keep that arm elevated.”

“Uh.” Kai paused. “I’m home al- alone ton- night. My d- d- dad’s working.”

“What about your mom?”

“I d- d- I d-” Kai huffed out the rest of the breath in his lungs and tried again. “I haven- n’t got one.”

“Oh.” Luhan, about to turn the key, stopped. “So it’s just you?”

Kai nodded, eyes fixed on his knees. Luhan stared at him for a second, then realised he didn’t really have to think too hard about it.

“Okay,” he said, turning the car on. “You’re coming to my house then.”

“N- no!” Kai protested. “I can- I can make mys- self d- d- dinner with one han- han- nd, it’s okay!”

“Nnnope!” Luhan pulled out of the parking lot and turned towards the highway, in the opposite direction of Kai’s house. “You think I’m gonna leave you home alone with a broken wrist? Not a chance, kiddo. Skater Dads are looking after you tonight and oh my god I just called myself a dad, it’s official, I’m old.”

Kai laughed in spite of himself and straightened up in his seat. “M- Mins- seok won’t mind?”

“You kidding?” Luhan merged onto the highway and shot a raised eyebrow towards Kai. “Minseok has all the time in the world for you, he thinks you’re fantastic.”

“ _Oh_.”

Luhan wasn’t sure if that was all Kai had to say or if he was so overwhelmed that no words were making it past his stutter. Either way, he didn’t speak again until they pulled into the driveway and Luhan reached over to help him with his seatbelt.

“Minseo- seok’s cool.”

“Yeah, he’s not bad.”

“You g- guys are f- f- _fff-_ awesome.”

Luhan laughed, a little surprised. “Thanks, man.”

Kai ducked his head as Luhan maneuvered the seatbelt around his arm.

“I want t- to be like you t- two w- wh- when I’m older.”

Luhan stopped and cocked his head to the side to consider him for a moment. He suddenly wasn’t sure whether the dusky blush across Kai’s cheeks was innocent admiration or some misplaced crush born of hero worship. He pursed his lips for a second, trying to find the balance between encouragement and deflection.

“It might take you a few years,” he said finally, “maybe five, ten, maybe fifteen or more… but when you finally find someone who is even half as good to you as Minseok is to me, you’ll be set for life.”

Kai looked up at him, a tiny smile edging into his flushed cheeks. _No_ , Luhan thought with relief, _just admiration_.

“I hope so,” he said. “You g- guys are rel- l- relationsh- ship g- g-”

Luhan threw his hands in the air. “Why does everyone keep _saying that_?”

Kai laughed. “Because it’s true.”

Luhan held the front door for him and flipped the light on as they stepped into the hall.

“Baby!” Minseok rolled into the kitchen doorway, then did a double take as he caught sight of Kai. “Oh. Hey, Kai. What’s going on?”

“I brought us a lost child for dinner,” Luhan said. “Very tired and sore and in need of exciting skating stories from your glory days.”

“Always happy to tell those. What’s the occasion?”

Kai held up his hand so Minseok could see his cast.

“Oh nooo,” Minseok groaned. “What happened?”

“I was st- s- stupid.”

“He wasn’t stupid,” Luhan insisted, chivvying Minseok back into the kitchen and dropping his keys on the counter. “He was adventurous.”

“I fell.”

“Tried for a brainless and _completely_ wiped out.”

“Dude, that sucks.” Minseok carefully patted Kai on his uninjured arm. “At least it was your left hand though, right?”

“I’m l- left-handed,” Kai said glumly.

“Oh.” Minseok grimaced. “Well, you’re screwed. Sit down, let me get you a soda.” He glanced over his shoulder at Luhan as he pulled the fridge open. “I was about to wonder where you were.”

“Sorry, I should have texted.”

Minseok waved him away. “No worries. I had twenty-three minutes before I was gonna start panicking.”

Luhan leaned down to kiss Minseok’s forehead and took the drinks from him to place on the counter. “How far away is dinner?”

“Ready,” Minseok said, reaching over to take the lid off the cooker. “Grab another plate, darling?”

Seated at the dining table, Luhan helped Kai cut up his food while Minseok launched into a story about the time he fell off a half-pipe and broke his arm in four places.

“Yixing had to carry me to the bus stop cause I was crying too hard to walk,” he said. “The bus driver took one look at me, called us a pair of morons, and called an ambulance for us.”

“You cried?” Kai looked surprised.

“Like a baby,” Minseok grinned. “I was eighteen. It was the worst injury I’d ever had in my life. They had to put pins in and everything, it sucked _ass_.”

“Man, that mus- must have hurt.” Kai looked down at his own wrist. “Th- this hurts bad en- en- nough, and it’s only one fr- f- fracture.”

“To be honest, I remember it hurting even more than when I had my motorbike accident.”

Kai’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Really? How many b- breaks was that?”

“I’m pretty sure when it’s that crushed they just stop counting,” Minseok smirked. “But I was in shock, so I don’t think I was feeling much of anything.”

“Okay,” Luhan cut in, as Kai’s jaw threatened to fall right off his face, “we asked for _fun_ injury stories, not traumatic ones.”

“Excuse me,” Minseok protested, “my broken arm was very traumatic.”

“It was probably more traumatic for Yixing than for you,” Luhan said.

“Oh, almost certainly.”

Minseok winked at Kai, and Kai laughed back at him, and Luhan was struck with a sudden feeling of _completeness_. For a brief second it felt almost as though he had been taken out of time, thrown forward fifteen or twenty years, and the giggling teenager on the other side of the table was no longer Kai but someone else, someone new, someone _theirs_.

Luhan blinked and gave his head a tiny shake. The world resettled around his ears, and as Kai begged Minseok to tell another story Luhan ducked his head towards his plate, a strange new kind of warmth blooming in his heart.

-

Kai ended up staying with them not only that night, not only the next, but for the following two weeks as well. There didn’t seem to be much point in sending him home to struggle on his own with one hand, especially once he admitted his father was working nights at his second job and would barely be home to see him anyway.

“We’ll keep you out of his way,” Minseok said. “There’s no sense in him worrying about looking after you when he should be sleeping.”

“You can keep Minseok company while I’m at the rink,” Luhan said.

“Two mildly broken dudes hanging out together,” Minseok added.

“Between you you’ve got the use of all four limbs.”

Kai giggled until he almost choked, face flushed with the illicit amusement of joking about Minseok’s disability.

“I’ll be th- the l- l- legs, and you be- be the arms.”

“Exactly!”

Over those two weeks it wasn’t uncommon for Luhan to come home from the rink in the evenings and find Minseok and Kai engaged in some hyper-intellectual discussion about skating technique, or the practicality of earning a living off competitive sports, or memes. Sometimes they would be curled up together on the living room couch. Sometimes Minseok would be hanging from the chin-up bar in the corner of the dining room while Kai kicked himself back and forth in Minseok’s wheelchair, looking almost comically large in it - at seventeen, he was already taller and broader than Minseok, though he lacked much of Minseok’s muscle. Sometimes they would be in the middle of making dinner, Kai on stirring duty with his one good hand while Minseok hopped around chopping and seasoning and chattering away above the hiss of the frypan.

Tonight, Luhan dropped his bag in the hall and paused in the kitchen doorway to watch Minseok help Kai with his calculus homework. He was functioning as both tutor and scribe, talking Kai through the problem and then writing his answer down as Kai traced it out on the table with his finger.

Luhan stole a moment of quiet observation before one of them inevitably turned around and noticed his presence. There was something nice about seeing this side of Minseok, watching him answer Kai’s questions with the kind of depth and patience that could only come from expert knowledge of the subject matter, not to mention a natural inclination towards teaching. You would be forgiven for thinking he’d studied mathematics at college, or indeed gone to college at all.

Luhan smiled and stepped out of the doorway. “Hey boys.” He ruffled Kai’s hair, then slid his arms around Minseok’s shoulders and kissed his head just at the edge of his beanie. “How was school today?”

“It sucked!” Kai declared. “We had a t- test, and I had to d- d- do it all with my- my right han- nd. It was st- s- stressful.”

“Oh _no_.” Luhan grimaced. “They couldn’t have someone write for you?”

Kai shook his head. “My teacher j- just told me t- to do my b- best.”

Minseok frowned. “I still think that’s bullshit, dude. They should be making accommodations for you for shit like that. You sure you don’t want me to call the school?”

“What would that d- do? You’re n- not my d- d- father,” Kai pointed out.

“True.” Minseok leaned back with a sigh. “But I could put on my disabled celebrity voice and see if that helps?”

Luhan squinted at him. “What does your ‘disabled celebrity voice’ sound like?”

Minseok shrugged. “It’s just my voice.”

Kai gave a hiccupping laugh, his hand over his mouth.

“It’- t’s really okay,” he said. “I’ll be f- fine.”

“If you’re sure.” Minseok pushed himself back from the table and reached out to give Kai a friendly smack on the shoulder. “The offer’s always open if you’re ever in need of a disabled celebrity.”

Kai, still chortling into his wrist, just nodded.

-

By the time Kai’s cast came off, spring had well and truly arrived. Minseok started practising with his team again, Luhan began spending longer hours in the rink, and the new year of competitions loomed large before them.

“Man,” Kai sighed, flexing his wrist carefully before strapping it tightly into its guard. “I was ho- o- hoping to do _East Xt- treme_ this year.”

Luhan looked up from tightening his skates. “What do you mean? You still can.”

Kai shrugged. “I’ve l- los- st six weeks of p- practise. I’m gon- gonna _suck_.”

Luhan stood up and frowned at him. “Uh, with that attitude, yeah. Bro, you’ve still got two months. You know what I was doing two months before my first _East_? Falling on my head. Daily.”

“Yeah. I rem- m- remember.”

“And I _won_.”

“But- but dude, you were d- doing _1260s_. I c- can- n’t even land a br- b- br- brainless without break- k- breaking my wrist.”

Luhan took Kai by the elbow and pulled him into the rink. “Okay, first let’s work on that not-breaking-stuff thing. The reason you’re not landing is that you’re scared of the jump. If you hold back, you’re gonna get hurt. Go fast, go hard, give it everything you’ve got and try to land on your feet. That’s all there is to it.”

Kai turned to him. “What if I c- can’t do anyth- thing better th- than a corkscrew?”

“Then you do the best corkscrew you possibly can.” Luhan gripped Kai’s shoulder. “You can place with the simplest moves as long as you do them well.”

“You k- keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true.” Luhan nudged Kai in the arm and they began a warmup lap around the rink. “Look at Baekhyun - he always places better when he does simple shit well than when he tries to do flashy tricks and only kind of hits them.” He paused to soyale along a rail. “If you do the easy shit perfectly, then no-one has to know that you can’t do anything harder. Make sense?”

“I g- guess so. Th- tha- that’s not what you d- do though… is it?”

Luhan laughed. “Kai. You gotta know by now, there’s only one skater alive who’s more of a recklessly competitive motherfucker than I am - and I’m engaged to him.”

Kai jumped up onto the next rail, chortling so hard he almost tripped over his deadfish grind.

“Can you im- magine if you an- and Minseok were competing ag- g- against each other?” he said, as he landed and turned to skate crab around the corner.

Luhan snorted. “We would _not_ be getting married, that’s for sure. We’d more likely be tryna kill each other.”

“You d- don’t think you’d be tog- t- together at all?”

“Unlikely. I dunno.” As they rounded the end of the rink he skidded to a halt and leaned over the barrier to call into the office. “Hey babe!”

“Yo.” Minseok tore his eyes away from checking Yixing’s spreadsheets and looked up. “What’s up?”

“If you were still skating, do you think we’d be together? Cause I reckon we’d probably be too busy trying to sabotage each other.”

“Hm…” Minseok’s eyes dragged pointedly down Luhan’s body and back up. “Nah, we’d _definitely_ be hate-fucking.”

Kai choked on a laugh as Luhan facepalmed.

“Jesus Christ, Min, in front of the kids?”

“Kai is old enough to know about the birds and the bees and the weird thing that praying mantises do. Hate-sex should not be a new concept at this point.”

“I s- still don- n- n’t unders- stand how you can have s- _sss_ \- sex with someone if y- y- you don’t like them,” Kai giggled.

“Oh, honey.” Minseok raised his eyebrows. “You would be surprised.”

“ _Everything_ about this conversation is so inappropriate,” Luhan groaned.

Minseok shrugged. “I am nothing if not a corrupting influence.”

“My d- dad thinks you’re a g- good inf- inf- influence,” Kai said. “He says th- th- thank you for l- looking after me.”

“Hey, no worries, kiddo,” Minseok said. “I operate under a pay-it-forward system, so. Don’t sweat it.” He winked and nodded towards the ramps. “Go practise your flips, rocket boy. I wanna see you land that brainless at _East_.”

-

The trip up to _East Xtreme_ was a comfortable ritual by now. Leaving at six, picking up Baekhyun, Kris, Chanyeol and now Kai, grabbing breakfast on the way and dozing on each other’s shoulders for the three-hour drive to the hosting city - it was all as much a part of the day as the competition itself.

“Bunch of friends going to a competition,” Baekhyun sang, bopping his head at Chanyeol. “Gonna do some sick flips and hopefully win some sweet prize money!”

“When was the last time we all competed together?” Kris wondered from the far back seat.

“Have we ever?” Luhan turned around in his seat to look at them.

“We must’ve!” Chanyeol insisted.

“I don’t think we have,” Luhan said.

Baekhyun began counting on his fingers. “Putting aside that this is Baby Kai’s first year out of juniors: last year Channie and Kris were sick; the year before that I was out because of my knee; the year before that Channie sat it out; and every year before that Luhan was too chicken shit to compete!”

“ _Hey!_ ”

“We’ve never all competed at once!”

“Man, remember a time before Luhan won every year?” Kris said, his chin on his hand. “Other people used to have a shot at it.”

“First off, fuck you. Secondly-”

“I remember when Luhan had no confidence in his ability to skate,” Baekhyun cooed. “Well. Actually. No, I don’t. But I do remember when he had more confidence than ability.”

“I remember when Luhan sucked at skating,” Kris agreed.

“I remember when he used to fall on his head every day trying to do a mistiest,” Chanyeol chimed in.

“What happened to those days?” Baekhyun sighed, then grinned and lifted his hand like a conductor’s baton.

“ _Kim Minseok_ ,” the three of them chorused.

“You guys are the _worst_ ,” Luhan grumped. Out the corner of his eye he could see Minseok shaking his head, eyes on the road but a grin on his face, and in the back seat next to Baekhyun Kai was chortling into his fist.

“I w- w- wish I had frien- nds like you guys,” he hiccuped.

Baekhyun turned to stare at him with feigned offense.

“What do you mean, you _wish?_ We’re sitting _right here_.”

Kai turned a deep shade of red, though whether it was from embarrassment or laughter Luhan couldn’t tell. 

“Oh- ar- are we f- friends?”

Baekhyun slung an arm around Kai’s neck and pulled him into a strangling hug. “Hate to break it to you, kiddo, but yes. Once you roadtrip to a competition together, you’re buds. You’re stuck with us now.”

“God help you,” Minseok muttered from the driver’s seat.

“Get rekt, Minseok, you’re stuck with us too.”

“Yeah, I’m still trying to figure out how to lose you. Pro tip, rocket boy - if you’ve managed to convince your father that I’m a good influence, don’t push your luck by telling him about Baekhyun.”

“Excuse you,” Baekhyun protested, “I am a _fantastic_ influence!”

“You drew a penis on Chanyeol’s wrist guard and called him Dickfingers for a week.”

Baekhyun snorted. “Pffft. … _heheh, Dickfingers_.”

Minseok just raised his eyebrows in the rearview mirror, and Kai laughed so hard he choked on his own spit and Baekhyun had to pound him on the back with a fist.

-

“Okay,” Luhan juggled his registration package into one hand so he could hoist his bag up onto his shoulder. “Let’s see if we can get front row seats so we can all sit together.”

“If need be I’ll weasel you lot into the priority seating area with my endless charm and stunning good looks,” Minseok said. “What’s the programme look like this year?”

“Hmm.” Baekhyun scanned the page, then scoffed. “Last event. They love doing that to us, don’t they?”

“Last’s better than first,” Luhan said. “Remember that time they put us on at 10am? I was barely even awake.”

“You still won,” Chanyeol pointed out.

“Yeah, and I still don’t know how,” Luhan laughed. “Hey Min, you wanna pick a group of teenagers to kick out of their seats? I- _ah!_ ”

“ _LUHANNIE!_ ”

Luhan staggered forward and dropped his gear bag to catch the sudden fling of legs around his waist.

“I missed you!” Amber chirped into his ear, clinging to his back like a koala.

“ _Amberrr_!” Luhan squeezed her hands, then dragged her off so he could turn around and hug her breathless. “How are you doing?”

“Good!” She patted his back excitedly. “Are you ready, dude?”

“I never am, but let’s do this shit anyway.”

“We’ve got the whole day to stress about it, did you see they put us on _last_?”

“Oh my god, _yes_ ,” Luhan rolled his eyes. “They always do that to us, it _sucks_.”

“Bruh,” Amber straightened her snapback, “one year we were last and I was the second-to-last skater. It was fucking awful.”

“Dude, you know who was the last skater that year? _Me._ ”

“Oh, _duuude_.”

“ _Right?_ ”

Minseok rolled to a stop next to Luhan and tapped him on the hip.

“Don’t let me interrupt you, but we’re gonna go find somewhere to sit.”

“Oh, bro-” Amber turned away and pointed over towards the far side of the rink. “We saved you seats. There’s like five of you, right? Victoria’s holding the row for us.”

Minseok brightened. “You brought Victoria?”

“Hell yeah, man.”

Minseok made a noise of unrestrained excitement and zoomed away around the rink, hands moving so fast over his wheels they were almost a blur. Luhan picked up his gear bag while Amber greeted the others with hugs and fist bumps, and they set off after Minseok. As they walked, Amber linked an arm through Luhan’s elbow and hugged into his side.

“I can’t wait to see what you’re doing today. Have you got any new moves since _World_?”

“Maybe.” Luhan pulled a face. “I mean, yes, but I’m fucking nervous about it. I’ve only landed it like three times. What about you?”

“Yeah, I’ve been working on some stuff. I told you I broke my fingers, right?”

Luhan gaped at her. “What? No! How?”

“Kedidi’d and whacked em on the edge of the half-pipe. Three of them in splints, it was annoying as fuck.”

“Bro,” Luhan groaned. “It’s been a bad year for injuries. Kai fractured his wrist over the winter too.”

“Hm?” Kai came scurrying up beside them. “I heard m- my name.”

“I’m just telling Amber how you broke your wrist.”

Kai pulled a face. “I faceplan- nted on a brainless. It s- sucked. I had a c- cast for s- s- six weeks.”

“Dude.” Amber made a sympathetic face. “That’s the _worst_. Did you skate while you had your cast?”

“N- no?” Kai looked bewildered. “They t- told me not to.”

“They told me not to as well, but I did it anyway.”

“Okay, take it from me,” Luhan said as they reached the far block of seats where Minseok and Victoria were excitedly catching up. “Casts might seem like they’re pretty much wrist guards, but they fucking ain’t, and falling on them is a Bad Idea.”

Kai shuddered. “My wrist g- guard wasn’t much hel- l- help anyway.”

“That’s because it was already breaking,” Luhan said. “Your armour’s not just for show, dude, it’s gotta actually work. Next time your shit’s wearing out, tell me so I can find you something else to use before you get hurt.”

Kai squirmed in his seat, and Luhan caught a reflection of a familiar stubbornness, that unwillingness to accept favours characteristic of those who needed them most. Kai had flat-out refused to allow Luhan to buy him new wrist guards; it had been enough of a battle convincing him to take Minseok’s old gear rather than just duct-taping his broken pads back together, and in the end it was only Minseok’s quiet sigh that _he’d loved that armour so much and now it was just gathering dust_ that had convinced Kai to accept it. Luhan wasn’t quite sure how Kai would react if he ever found out that the pads were a one-of-a-kind set designed specifically for Minseok.

“When I was like fifteen,” Amber said, “one of my kneepads, the strap ripped off it like two weeks before the Northeastern Junior Championships, and I couldn’t afford to buy new gear and I didn’t know how to stitch it back on, so I used a safety pin to hold it together.”

Luhan snorted. “That’s real fuckin’ smart.”

“It popped open halfway through my first line.”

Kai smacked both hands over his mouth. “Oh no! Did you get- t- get hurt?”

“I mean, I didn’t fall, but it scared the shit out of me! And I did the whole run with a safety pin stuck into my leg, so go me.”

Baekhyun laughed and leaned back in his seat. “I remember the life hacks I did to make my gear last before I had a rich best friend and two sugar daddies.”

Luhan squinted at him. “Okay, I don’t buy you shit, so that’s all on your sugar daddies. Which, incidentally, is not a way I ever wanted to think about Kris and Chanyeol, so thanks.”

Kai was chortling so hard Luhan thought his head might explode.

“S- sugar daddies,” he snickered.

“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” Baekhyun drawled. “They work, I spend, everyone’s happy.”

“Get a job, you freeloader,” Luhan said.

“Gimme like four years,” Baekhyun said, narrowing his eyes as if contemplating the ceiling. “I’d rather not work while I’m studying.”

“Studying?” Luhan stared at him. “Since when are you a student?”

“Since hopefully this fall. Waiting on that sweet college acceptance letter.”

“ _Um?_ ” Luhan frowned. “Excuse me? Why is this the first I’ve heard of this?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “Didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. I perform better with low expectations.”

Luhan rolled his eyes. “How are you hoping to get into college, anyway? Didn’t you drop out of high school?”

“What?” Baekhyun finally tore his gaze away from the ceiling to raise an eyebrow in Luhan’s direction. “No? I finished a year early. I was taking accelerated classes since I was like fourteen.”

“You never told me that!”

“You never asked.”

“Yes I did!” Luhan smacked him on the arm. “I asked you what school you were at, and you told me, I fucking quote, ‘I don’t fuck with school.’ You made it sound like you dropped out!”

Baekhyun grinned. “Oops.”

Luhan grabbed him by the back of the neck and pretended to choke him. “You absolute liar! If you were such a child genius, then why didn’t you go straight to college? Why did you only ever work shitty retail jobs?”

“Like I said,” Baekhyun shrugged, “I like low expectations. Plus those employee discounts are no joke, I could get a whole new wardrobe from like two days’ pay.”

“You’re fucking ridiculous.” Luhan couldn’t help but laugh at the cheeky grin on Baekhyun’s face. “So what are you gonna study?”

“Sports medicine.”

“Wow, really?”

Baekhyun nodded. “I’m thinking I’ll be a physiotherapist. Make mad cash off fuckers like you.”

Luhan snorted. “Still leeching to the day you die. Every time a skater falls off a half-pipe your eyes’ll light up with dollar signs.”

“YOU KNOW IT.” Baekhyun clicked finger-guns at him.

Luhan laughed and slung an arm around Baekhyun’s neck to drag him into a hug. “You’re fucking ridiculous.” He ruffled Baekhyun’s hair until he gave a wriggling squawk of protest, then shoved him away. “Proud of you.”

Baekhyun combed his fingers through his hair. “Shut up.”

Luhan grinned and turned to watch the first skateboarder take the rink.

-

Watching the other divisions was always one of the best parts of competition days. After this many years of attending the championships they had friends in most of the other categories, so there were plenty of people to cheer for. A couple of the skateboarders came out with some incredibly innovative tricks, and Luhan’s brain immediately started ticking over how he could adapt them to skates.

As the junior inline skaters began their event, Luhan leaned forward to pay attention.

“Behold, the future of our sport,” Minseok declared. “These little grommets will one day be the biggest names in the business, once puberty’s had its way with them. So for today, let’s cheer them on the loudest we possibly can and try not to laugh when one of them inevitably trips over their adolescent clown feet.”

“Did you ever trip over your adolescent clown feet?” Chanyeol asked.

Minseok smirked. “Does my foot _look_ like it’s grown since I was twelve years old?”

Kris snorted a laugh into Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“I didn’t hit puberty,” Minseok continued, “I just lightly grazed it.”

“Not where it counts,” Luhan muttered into his soda.

“Now who’s setting a bad example for the kids?” Minseok teased. Luhan turned to kiss him, and Minseok shrank back in his wheelchair. “Babe, I love you, but you’re drinking diet. Don’t come over here with that hive juice on your lips.”

“Oh, sorry.” Luhan grimaced at the soda can.

“Where did you even _get_ that?” Minseok said. “You don’t care about calories.”

“Some BMX dude gave it to me for my autograph. I told him I didn’t want it, but he was like, really adamant on paying me somehow? I don’t fucking know.”

“BMXers are weird,” Baekhyun said.

“Amen.”

“I think I’d be good at BMX,” Kris chimed in.

“That’s because you’re weird.”

“He probably licked the can before he gave it to you,” Amber suggested.

Luhan choked on a mouthful and barely resisted the urge to spit it out on the ground.

“ _Ew,_ ” Kai groaned. “Do you th- think he really licked it?”

Luhan coughed and banged a fist against his chest. “I don’t know, but I’m suddenly not thirsty anymore.” He dropped the can into the bag of rubbish under Baekhyun’s seat and grabbed his water bottle to rinse out his mouth. “That’s the grossest fucking thing. I think I’ve been put off diet for life.”

“Good,” Minseok said. “Keep that poison five thousand feet away from me at all times.”

“Yo!” Baekhyun grabbed Luhan’s arm. “Check this kid out!”

Luhan turned to look at the current skater, a tiny boy with an elfin face who was whizzing around the rink as if jet-propulsed. As they watched he sailed into a mistiest, landed fakie, and went straight into a Phillips 66.

Chanyeol whistled. “This kid’s hardcore.”

“Isn’t that Mark Lee?” Amber said. “He’s gotten _good_.”

“No kidding,” Luhan murmured.

They watched in silence for the rest of the run, until Mark suislid down his final rail and skidded to a finish.

“Wewww!” Minseok cried, stamping his foot for added applause. “I’m gonna go ahead and say he just won junior gold! How old is this kid?”

“Thirteen,” Kai supplied.

“Well, darling,” Minseok turned to Luhan, “enjoy the next four years, cause the minute he hits the senior division your career is over.”

Luhan laughed and whacked him in the shoulder, but he couldn’t help but feel that Minseok was probably right. Failing a sudden loss of interest in the sport, Mark Lee was on a trajectory to clean out the senior titles once he hit seventeen.

“Here he comes.”

Luhan followed Baekhyun’s gaze to where Mark was stepping out of the rink at the nearest gate. He picked up his water bottle, then skated slowly towards the corner block, where the loudest cheers indicated a group of skaters from his home rink. Seemingly oblivious to the crowd seated behind him, he paused halfway along to take a sip of water and watch the next skater begin her run. Luhan leaned forward.

“Hey, Mark.”

Mark turned, startled. His eyes went almost alarmingly wide as they flicked along the row of people in front of him, and Luhan could almost see the internal flood of _holy shit Amber Liu holy shit Kim Minseok holy shit Luhan HOLY SHIT IT’S LUHAN HOLY SHIT LUHAN KNOWS MY NAME HOLY SHIT_ -

“That was really good,” Luhan said. “You’ve got some great moves. I’m impressed.”

Mark opened his mouth, but all that came out was a squeak.

“Keep working hard,” Minseok added. “You’ve got a really good future ahead of you if you stick to it.”

Luhan knew Mark was young enough that Minseok must be a legend to him - he would have no personal memory of seeing him skate, but if the flush in his cheeks was anything to go by he’d definitely seen videos. Minseok still held titles that no current skater had even the slightest hope of breaking. To kids like Mark, he was an untouchable god.

“Thank you,” Mark whispered, now bright red and shaking like a leaf. He stood there for a moment, shifting from foot to foot, then bowed almost to the floor and scuttled off towards his block of teammates.

“I think you just made that kid’s entire life,” Amber observed, watching Mark stagger into the arms of two of his friends and begin gesturing excitedly.

“Was th- th- was that what I looked like?” Kai asked. “Wh- w- when we m- met?”

“Nah,” Minseok shook his head. “Luhan was much less famous then.”

“Shut the entire fuck up, babe,” Luhan said. Minseok laughed and grabbed his hand to lace their fingers together.

“Oh shit,” Kris said, “it’s go time.”

“Fuck!”

The last junior skater had entered the rink, and the seniors were gathering around the board to wait for the order of competitors. Luhan planted a kiss on Minseok’s lips and jumped up. “Wish me luck!”

“Go crush it, baby!” Minseok pumped a fist. “You got this.”

As the last junior came off, Luhan held his breath. _Not first, not last. Not first, not-_

“ _Yesss._ ”

Baekhyun gave a hiss of approval as the list flashed up on the screen. Scanning the names, Luhan echoed him. Out of eighteen competitors he was third to last, after Amber and before Kai. Baekhyun twelfth. Kris fifth. Chanyeol first.

“Go hard, dude.” He turned to Chanyeol and gave him a bro hug. “Set a high bar.”

“Scare the shit out of the grommets,” Kris agreed, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol and pounding him on the back. As they parted he grabbed Chanyeol’s face and kissed him, then turned away and cleared his throat, rolling his shoulders as if that would make his ears stop flaming. Luhan suppressed a snort; Kris’s discomfort with PDA was almost refreshing in contrast to the way Baekhyun was hurriedly sucking Chanyeol’s face for luck.

Chanyeol stepped into the rink, took a visible breath of courage, and began.

-

By the time Amber entered the rink, Luhan was almost shaking with anticipation. Some of the other skaters had been dauntingly good; he was going to have to bring his absolute A game to win. His stomach was a twist of apprehension, and he was beginning to regret putting soda into it. _Please, dear god, don’t let me puke on the half-pipe._

“Are you n- n- _nervous?_ ”

“Yep,” Luhan whispered.

Kai looked horrified.

“One day I’ll be able to do Minseok’s whole calm-but-not-cocky thing,” Luhan assured him. “One day it’ll happen.” He blew out a breath between pursed lips. “Today is not that day.”

Kai pulled a face. “I g- guess you’ve got a l- l- a lot riding on this comp- m- mpetition.”

“Yes, thank you for that reminder.”

“Oh- sorry.”

Luhan patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, kiddo.”

Amber, about to begin her run, turned and flashed them a V. Luhan returned a thumbs-up and, as if that were the fuel she needed, she pushed off to start her first line.

Luhan remembered watching Amber skate for the very first time, the way she had exuded confidence in every spin, throwing herself around the rink like the ground didn’t even exist. Her reckless energy had been terrifying then, but now Luhan found it reassuring to know that it was possible to skate this way. Amber didn’t _perform_ her tricks, she _was_ her tricks. Every flip looked as easy as breathing, to the point that Luhan suddenly wasn’t sure whether she had practised all of this a thousand times before or if she was just coming up with every move off the top of her head.

“Holy _shit!_ ” Luhan grabbed Kai’s hand as Amber landed her final flip to thunderous applause.

“What the f- f- _absolute hell was that?_ ”

“ _Did she just put a genie grab into a 900 mistiest?_ ”

When Amber stepped out of the rink, chest heaving, eyes shining, Luhan grabbed her and hugged her off her feet.

“ _Amber! What the fuck? That was the most hardcore shit I’ve ever seen!_ ”

“Didn’t break my fingers this time,” she gasped. “Good job, me.”

“ _Number sixteen, please_.”

“Shit, that’s me.” Luhan gave her one last squeeze and stepped back.

“Good luck!”

“G- good luck, Luhan.”

Luhan stepped through the gate into the rink. He took a moment to look around at the crowd, then peeled off his flannel shirt and passed it over the barrier to Amber. He circled his arms in a slow windmill, wriggled his elbow pads into a more comfortable position, straightened his tank top, and turned to find Minseok in the crowd. With his eyes on that beautiful smile, he lifted his arms out to the side, as much to remind himself as to show the world - NO WINGS NEEDED.

Luhan dropped his arms and let his gaze fall to the first rail. _Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Go._

This routine was familiar by now, honed over months of practise in the rink. Luhan let muscle memory take over for the mechanics of it and focused on the details, on the flourishes, on bringing everything together into the most perfect iteration of each line. He imagined Minseok sitting on the top of the half-pipe yelling instructions and encouragement. With everything he had, Luhan threw himself into flight.

When he finally landed his last grind, he knew he’d done it perfectly.

His heart was pounding too hard in his ears for him to hear the crowd cheering, but he had a more reliable compass than applause: wiping the sweat from his eyes, he looked to Minseok.

For a second it didn’t quite process. Minseok was too tall, almost level with the rest of the row, he was moving, he was- 

He was out of his wheelchair, hopping up and down, his smile so wide it seemed like it would split his face. With his hands clasped in front of his chest, he looked too ecstatic for applause. Luhan wasn’t sure if it was the sweat in his own eyes, or if Minseok was literally crying with pride.

“I did it,” Luhan gasped, to Minseok, to himself, to no-one at all. _That was the absolute best I’ve ever skated in my life._

He staggered out of the rink and into the waiting arms of Baekhyun and Amber.

“ _Boiii!_ ”

“Luhan, my dude!”

“B- b- bro, that was f- _fucking amazing_.”

Luhan turned to grab Kai by the shoulders before he could step through the gate.

“Remember,” he panted, “go fast, go hard, give it everything you’ve got and try to land on your feet.”

Kai gave him a grin. “That’s all th- there is to it.”

“Good luck.”

As Kai took off around the rink, Luhan felt hands tugging at his waist. With a yelp and a scuffle of skates, he toppled backwards.

“Baby,” Minseok beamed, scooping Luhan into his lap and showering kisses across his face, “that was - the best - I have _ever_ \- seen you skate.” He cupped his hands around Luhan’s cheeks and kissed him, devouring his mouth until Luhan had to push at his chest.

“Babe, lemme breathe-”

Minseok just hummed and moved to Luhan’s cheeks to continue peppering them with kisses as Luhan caught his breath.

“That was good, wasn’t it?” Luhan said.

“That was _fantastic_ ,” Minseok purred. “You hit everything perfectly, even that fakie landing, for a second I thought you were gonna hit the coping but you _fucking nailed it_ -”

“It felt really good, really solid, I think it was good-”

“It _was_ good, it was _incredible_ -”

“Guys, look-”

Luhan tore his eyes away from Minseok to follow Amber’s gaze. Kai was halfway down a darkslide grind, which quickly turned into a rocket over the low ramp and a disaster fishbone.

“Holy crap,” Baekhyun whistled. “It’s like, he’s doing the simplest possible tricks, but like… back to back? That’s no joke.”

 _Simple shit done well._ Luhan grinned. The moves themselves were easy enough, but it was the transitions between them that made the whole thing look polished, seamless, like Kai was dancing more than skating. He spun on a dime, pulling half cabs and shift kicks in quick succession, and before Luhan could hold his breath he was on the half-pipe and flying into a brainless.

_Land it, land it, come on…_

“ _Woah!_ ” Baekhyun lurched forward, slamming into the barrier.

Luhan couldn’t tell if Kai had planned it or if in his enthusiasm he’d just spun too fast, but somewhere in there his 540 had turned into a 720 so that his brainless landed fakie, and a quick half cab took him up the other side into another perfect brainless.

“ _Bruh, did you see that?_ ”

“I saw it!” Luhan’s arms tightened gleefully around Minseok’s neck. “The boy’s got moves!”

“Go Kai!” Amber called.

Minseok leaned past Luhan to yell, “Yeah, rocket boy!”

Kai couldn’t possibly have distinguished their voices among the roar of the crowd, but there was nevertheless a flash of a V in their direction as he touched down, beaming from ear to ear.

-

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Luhan gripped Baekhyun’s hand as they waited for the results.

“I dunno why _you’re_ nervous,” Baekhyun said. “This is your fourth year winning this thing. It’d take an act of God to unseat you.”

Luhan just gave a shaky laugh and squeezed Baekhyun’s fingers as the scoreboard gave a heralding honk. No matter how sure of himself he was, there was always a moment of uncertainty when it came down to the points.

_THIRD PLACE_

They eyeballed the board for the painful eternity until the name and score flashed up.

_Kim Jongin_

It took half a second for the unfamiliar name to register, and then-

“ _Rocket boy!_ ”

“Yeah, Baby Kai!”

Kris lifted Kai off his feet, bouncing him up towards the roof with a yell of approval.

“Me?” Bemused, disbelieving, Kai looked to Luhan for confirmation. “Really?”

“Yeah, buddy,” Luhan laughed. “Simple shit done well - _really_ well.”

“Oh.” Kai blinked, and then a grin spread across his face until his eyes were crinkled almost shut. He wiggled in Kris’s arms, delighted, ecstatic, a kid on Christmas morning.

The board honked at them again, and Kai’s name slid down into the corner of the screen.

_SECOND PLACE_

“C’mon,” Luhan whispered. _C’mon, Amber. I need you at World with me…_ On the other side of Baekhyun, Amber seemed to be whispering a similar prayer of her own.

_Lu Han_

A gasp from behind him. For the space of a heartbeat, he was so dismayed not to see Amber’s name that it didn’t occur to him to be either elated or disappointed. Then a slap on his shoulder reminded him that it was _his_ name on the board, and he managed to summon a grin and a fist pump.

It wasn’t that second place was bad; second was fine - second was great! Second meant a trip to _World Xtreme_ and the chance to defend his title. But in the four years he’d been competing, he had only ever won. The question rippling through the audience now was, if Luhan wasn’t in first place then who was?

In the moment that the board honked and slid his name down to sit above Kai’s, Luhan knew.

_FIRST PLACE_

After all, he’d never seen a genie grab in a 900 mistiest before. 

_Amber Liu_

“Oh my-”

“No _way_ -”

“ _YES!_ ”

Luhan looked to Amber and found her on her knees, staring up at the board as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. She closed her eyes and let a smile tear across her face as her hands closed into triumphant fists, and suddenly Luhan was overwhelmingly glad of second place; Amber had just shattered Victoria’s regional record, both in points and in placing.

She’d just become the first woman ever to win _East Xtreme_.

Luhan dropped to the ground beside Amber and dragged her into his arms.

“You did it!”

“I fucking- I fucking _did it_.” Amber clung to Luhan’s shoulders.

“You just- Amber, you-” Luhan squeezed her tighter, “no-one’s ever-”

“I know, I- I’m-” she took a shuddering breath. “I can’t fucking believe it.”

“I can.” Luhan kissed the side of her head, felt the way she was shaking, and buried his face in her hair.

“I can’t believe I beat _you_ ,” she laughed, the edge of a sob in her voice.

Luhan just laughed. “I’m so proud of you.”

Other people were descending on them with congratulatory hugs and exclamations of joy, so Luhan let go and helped Amber to her feet. She wiped the tears from her face and turned to Victoria, who swept her into a hug. Luhan couldn’t hear what they said to each other, but over Amber’s shoulder he could see Victoria’s smile was a thousand miles wide.

Luhan turned back to look at the board, which was now displaying the full ranking of competitors along with their scores. Chanyeol had come in ninth, Kris seventh, Baekhyun- 

Luhan whistled. Baekhyun had placed fourth, a tiny point and a half behind Kai.

“Dang,” he muttered. He glanced over at Baekhyun, who was contemplating the board.

“That was close,” Baekhyun said, as if reading Luhan’s mind.

“You disappointed?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “I mean, yes? But no. I remember how I felt the first time I placed. I’m glad he gets that. And, you know,” he glanced around, as if to make sure Kai was out of earshot, “I’m not exactly in desperate need of the money.”

“True.”

Baekhyun tilted his head to the side, still considering the scoreboard, then smirked. “How’s it feel getting beaten?”

“By her? Feels really good.”

“What if she beats you at _World_ too?”

“Then she will have earned it.”

Baekhyun nodded. “I can’t wait to see what she brings to the rink.”

-

Luhan didn’t think he’d ever heard a crowd scream louder than when Amber was presented with her gold medal at prizegiving. As soon as they came off the podium, she found herself swarmed with girls from the junior division, all of them clamouring for two seconds of her attention so they could tell her how awesome she was and how much they wanted to be like her and how _cool that flip was_. With a murmur in Amber’s ear to come find him later, Luhan eased himself out of the mob.

Waiting on the edge of the crowd, he found tiny Mark Lee. Twisting the lanyard of his own junior gold medal, he seemed to be summoning the courage to speak.

“Hey, dude,” Luhan said. “Congrats on the gold!”

Mark blushed and crumpled the lanyard in his hands.

“Thank you,” he squeaked. “I’m sorry you didn’t win.”

Luhan shook his head. “I’m not. Amber worked hard, she deserved it.”

“Oh.” Mark looked down at his feet. “Um, I want to ask you.” His voice seemed to freeze in his throat.

In the ensuing silence, Luhan sensed this was more than a can-I-have-your-autograph question.

“Hey, why don’t we sit down?” he said, indicating the empty row of seats behind them. Mark nodded and waited for Luhan to sit before quietly perching on the seat beside him.

“I was wondering. Um. I read that article about you-”

 _Which one?_ , Luhan wanted to ask, but he just nodded.

“-and I wanted to say. I think- I think it’s-” Mark took a deep breath. “I think it’s really cool that you’re open about being- about being gay.”

 _Oh_.

“I-” Mark swallowed and glanced up at Luhan. “I had to find a new rink to practise at, cause. Cause I told them I- uh- y’know.”

Luhan’s heart gave a painful clench at the set of Mark’s mouth. He didn’t want to ask what the other kids at Mark’s old rink had done upon finding out he liked boys.

“Hang on a second,” he said, and stood up to scan the crowd. “ _Minnie!_ ”

Minseok, two seating blocks along and engaged in conversation with a couple of the sponsorship representatives, looked around and waved his acknowledgement. As he turned to excuse himself from the conversation, Luhan sat back down next to Mark.

“Okay,” he said. “First of all, I’m so sorry that happened to you. Are you okay?”

Mark nodded. “Yeah, I- I found somewhere else to practise, so.”

“And they accept you the way you are?”

Mark shrugged. “No, I. I dunno, I just. I don’t tell them.”

“Oh, right.”

“What’s up?” Minseok rolled to a stop in front of them.

“Mark and I were just talking about the article from last month’s- was it last month? Where they were talking about the gay leaders in sport thing.”

“Oh, yeah, I know the one.”

“Do you have any advice for a young queer kid on navigating the whole sport homophobia kinda thing? I didn’t really get into skating until I was older, and by the time I came out to anyone other than Baek and the guys I was sort of attached to your name, so I think I dodged a lot of the ugly.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Minseok turned to look at Mark, who was suddenly doing a remarkable impression of a petrified dormouse. “What’s going on?”

Mark opened his mouth, but sitting two feet from Kim Minseok seemed to have disabled his voicebox.

“He’s scared to come out at his new rink cause it didn’t go so well at his old one,” Luhan supplied.

“I see.” Minseok pulled a face. “Okay, it’s never gonna be easy coming out to a new group of people, but you just gotta do it, and then stand your ground. Be absolutely unapologetic about who you are; be out and proud, and if people don’t like it they can get lost.”

“But-” Mark cleared his throat and managed something more than a whisper, “what if they hate me? What if they beat me up again?”

Minseok scratched his ear, his expression thoughtful.

“I got beaten up a couple times,” he said, “and each time I came back at them stronger than before. I made sure they knew they couldn’t break me. Nothing was gonna keep me from the top of the world.”

Mark looked doubtful of this strategy. “But… you’re _Kim Minseok_.”

“And you’re Mark Lee.” Minseok smirked. “There was never anything special about me, man. They didn’t leave me alone cause they knew I’d be famous one day. They left me alone cause I made them.”

“Oh.” Mark’s eyes began to hint at the beginning of a hopeful smile.

“Hey, by the way,” Minseok added, “if you’re ever down our way and you wanna see what a supportive skating community looks like, you should drop by the rink.” He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pen and a card holder, from which he extracted one of Yixing’s business cards. “I’m not always there during the summer cause it’s wheelchair basketball season, but Zhang Yixing runs the place and he is a certified sweetheart.” He uncapped the pen with his teeth, turned the card over, and began to scribble on the back of it. “Show him this. He’ll look after you.”

Peering over Minseok’s shoulder, Luhan observed his tiny, cramped handwriting:

_xing,_ __  
_this is mark. met him at east. take good care of him or i’ll punch u._ __  
_:P_ _  
_ _M_

Minseok handed the card to Mark, who took it with the kind of awed reverence that told Luhan he would be keeping it forever.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice small and shy.

“Don’t mention it,” Minseok said. “And hey, if you’re ever in trouble, if the bullies are getting you down or you just need someone in your corner, you call that number, okay? That’s the office line for the rink, it’ll normally be Yixing, you just tell him what’s up and he’ll help you.”

Mark looked terrified at the idea.

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Luhan put in. “Especially from Yixing. He’s the heart of the skating community down our way, he’s like a big brother to all our grommets, and he’s genuinely one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met, so-”

“Big brother? You think?” Minseok’s eyes glittered with mischief. “I reckon he’s too old for that. He’s definitely at least an uncle by now. Maybe even a grandpa.”

Luhan rolled his eyes. “If you call that number, you will get to talk to someone who’s less of a shithead than Minseok. Hopefully. Unless Minseok’s the one in the office, in which case you’re out of luck.”

Mark laughed at that, nodding as he tucked the card carefully into his wallet.

“Dude, the most important thing,” Minseok added, as Mark stood up, “just keep your chin up. Things might be rough at the moment, but if you can get through it in one piece then one day it’ll be better. I promise you that.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Mark’s smile was still small and timid, but there was real hope behind it as he bowed to them.

“Yo.” Luhan reached out a hand and pulled him into a gentle bro hug. “Congratulations again on your gold medal. I can’t wait to see you skate again next time.”

“Ditto,” Minseok agreed, holding out a fist for Mark to bump. “You’re going places, dude. Keep up the good work. We’ll see you around.”

As Mark ran back to his team, Minseok leaned forward to rest his head against Luhan’s stomach.

“I hope he’ll be okay.”

Luhan huffed a little laugh, his hand coming up to stroke the back of Minseok’s head.

“Are you kidding? You just gave him the greatest pep talk of all time. He’s gonna be thanking you in his autobiography.”

Minseok laughed. “Hopefully he remembers me after he bulldozes through all my records and wipes my legacy off the board.”

Luhan gave him a gentle smack on the shoulder. “Drama queen.”

Gentle hands slid around his waist, and Minseok nuzzled into his stomach for a moment before sitting back in his wheelchair and smiling up at him.

“Shall we go find rocket boy? I saw him slink off after prizegiving but I’m not sure where he went.”

They eventually spotted Kai sitting alone halfway up the stands on the other side of the rink, turning his bronze medal over in his hands with an expression of giddy disbelief.

“Do you wanna go grab him?” Minseok said. “I don’t want to leave my chair down here.”

Luhan took the steps two at a time and dropped down into the seat next to Kai, startling his eyes off his medal.

“Oh! Hello!”

“How’s it going?”

“G- good. I’m just- it’s s- ss- weird.”

“Can’t quite believe it yet?”

Kai shook his head.

“What are you doing up here on your own?”

“My d- dad’s gonna call me on his br- b- break.” Kai pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. “Any m- any minute.”

“Oh, right. You want me to leave you alone for a bit?”

Kai shook his head. “No, it’s- ’s- it’s okay.”

“Minseok’s just down there…” Luhan glanced down towards the foot of the stands and found Minseok deep in conversation with two of the senior skateboarders. “Ah, he’ll be alright. We can hang out up here for a bit.”

“When are we-” Kai’s phone buzzed to life in his hand, and he gave a squeal of delight as he answered it. “Papa! Are you on- n- on your b- break?”

Luhan pulled his own phone out of his pocket and looked away across the rink to give Kai some semblance of privacy.

“I w- I w- Daddy, I won third p- place!” Kai’s voice was burbling out of his throat faster than his stutter could keep up. “I g- I g- got a mmm- medal an- and- and ev- v’r- thing!” He seemed to choke on his tongue for a second, words and breath and spit all getting mixed up and going in the wrong directions. Luhan reached out to place a steadying hand on his knee, and Kai latched onto it with a tiny, grateful smile.

“L- Luhan came s- _sss-_ s-” Kai huffed out all the breath in his lungs and, after a moment of floundering, began drumming his fingers rhythmically against the back of Luhan’s hand. “Lu-han-came-se-cond-and-Am-ber-came-first.” That obstacle cleared, he let his fingers relax to rest softly between Luhan’s. “N- no, just them. Th- third place doesn- n’t go. But I g- g- got pri-ize money!” He paused, grinned. “A _lot_. No, I w- I want you to be surp- p- prised. Haha - no, n- not _that_ much. B- but, mayb- b- may- m-” he coughed, then drummed his fingers again, _tap-tap-tap_ against Luhan’s hand, “may-be-you-could-take-a-day-off?”

Luhan looked at Kai and found him chewing on his bottom lip, the tapping of his fingers nervous rather than therapeutic now. After a second he smiled, his hand relaxing onto Luhan’s again.

“I dunno,” he said. “It’s up t- to you. What w- would you do if- f- if you had a whole d- d- day off?” He hummed, smiled, tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, we c- c- we can br- brainstorm. We’ll f- find something n- n- nice to do.” His fingers laced a little tighter between Luhan’s, happy and hopeful in a way that wrapped warmth around Luhan’s heart. “Oh- yeah, sure! C- call me later, okay? Okay. I l- l-” a breath, a laugh, “I love you too, Dad. Bye.” He hung up and let his hand fall into his lap, staring at his phone with a grin he couldn’t quite wrestle off his face.

“He must be proud of you,” Luhan observed after a moment.

Kai nodded. For a minute it seemed that was all he could do, just nod and smile. Then he turned and threw his arms around Luhan’s shoulders.

“Th- this is the b- the b- best day of my life.”

Luhan hugged him back, his chin resting on Kai’s shoulder. He thought about the sacrifices Kai’s dad had made to get him here today, and how hard Kai had worked to make sure that investment didn’t go to waste. He squeezed Kai tighter, smiling with him.

“It only gets better from here, kiddo.”

-

All the congratulations had been given, all the goodbyes said, and it was time to pack up and go home. Luhan had excused himself to the bathroom in preparation for the long drive, and he was just stepping away from the urinal when the door opened.

“-nd his friends.”

A laugh. “Yeah, I’m glad I’m not a rollerblader.” A whoosh of water from the sinks on the other side of the partition. “Can you imagine how much that must suck knowing you’re never gonna win?”

About to step around the partition, Luhan froze.

“Yeah, it’s gotta be rough. I’d quit, to be honest. He and his friends clear out the top three every year.”

A mumble of agreement. Luhan strained his ears to hear over the rush of water.

“Hey, but what about that kid, though? The one who came third. He’s not-”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure he’s part of the Lu Crew.”

“Ah, really? God dammit.”

The door swung open again, and the voices disappeared into the hum of the building. Luhan stepped around the partition and grinned at himself in the mirror as he washed his hands. _Lu Crew_ , huh? He’d have to pass that one on to Minseok.

As he rejoined the others in the lobby, Baekhyun glanced at him sideways.

“What are you laughing about?”

Luhan shook his head. “Nothing. Are we ready to head out?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun nodded towards the door. “Gear’s already in the van.”

“Awesome. Let’s go, Crew.”

“Aw yeah!” Baekhyun sang. “Road trip with the crew! Got that sweet prize money, gonna make it rain!”

“If you sing all the way home I’ll throttle you, Baek, I swear to god.”

“Raining dolla bills all the way- _ah, ah, okay, I’ll stop!_ ”

-

The sun was warm on his bare skin. Luhan let himself linger into consciousness, bathing in the morning light and letting it warm him through to his bones. In his arms Minseok still slept, one crumpled fist pillowed under his cheek to catch the edge of each breath. Luhan snuggled into him to chase the warmth Minseok held beneath the covers.

The heat buzzing along his spine was about half sunlight and half sleepy arousal. Curled tightly together, Luhan’s crotch was spooned up against Minseok’s ass, and even though Luhan knew it was just a morning thing there was still something comfortably nice about waking up like this. Lazy desire curled through his stomach, and Luhan let the tingling sweetness of it ride out to his fingertips.

There was no urgency here; Minseok wasn’t awake yet, and Luhan was happy to let him sleep. Right now he just wanted to be here, to be present, to feel the beautiful fact of this skin beneath his fingers. He tuned into the hand that cradled Minseok close, that, having protected him from the night, now held them together in the morning. He focused on the heat of Minseok’s skin beneath his palm and felt the gentle rise and fall of his breath. He poured himself into that touch, until his whole heart rested on the smooth skin of Minseok’s stomach.

The slightest raise of his chin had his nose behind Minseok’s ear, tracing along the edge of his pink hair. His lips rested against Minseok’s skin as if magnetically drawn to touch, and even though he was in no rush to wake him, he couldn’t resist giving him a gentle kiss. He nosed along the crease of Minseok’s ear, breathing him in, already drunk on soft skin and sleepy warmth. Another kiss just below Minseok’s earlobe, the drag of his lips up along the shell of his ear, a kiss to his hairline.

There was the hint of a murmur in the next puff of breath across Minseok’s hand. Luhan traced his nose up the edge of Minseok’s ear again. The tingle of static at the base of his skull wanted Minseok closer, wanted to pull him in so tightly that they became one. Luhan revelled in that feeling as it shivered through his chest.

Minseok was so soft, sweet cotton under his lips, and when Luhan pressed another kiss behind his ear he received a mumble of warmth in reply. Minseok’s arm shifted, his hand came to cover Luhan’s where it rested on his stomach, and then Minseok was grabbing Luhan’s hand and dragging it down. His fingers caught on the waistband of Minseok’s pajama pants as Minseok pulled him past, and then Luhan’s hand was covering the fabric, feeling the curve of it, and then his palm was resting on Minseok’s erection.

_Mmm._

Luhan needed no encouragement to run his hand along the length of Minseok’s cock, taking his sigh and turning it into a sleepy moan. The fuzz in his spine took the sound and fuelled it out into Luhan’s bones, and the next time he kissed the side of Minseok’s neck it was accompanied by a lazy press of his hips. Minseok murmured in response, his hand tightening on Luhan’s wrist. Luhan tucked a thumb into the waist of Minseok’s pants and tugged them down just enough to get his hands properly on Minseok’s skin, and the whisper of approval that got drove his hand down, smoothing over Minseok’s hip, curling in between his thighs, dragging back up over his balls to take him in a gentle grip and stroke all the way from base to head.

There were no words in the shaky breath from Minseok’s throat, but his hand closed around Luhan’s to hold him tighter, and Luhan sucked his agreement into the back of Minseok’s neck as his hips rolled forward.

There wasn’t quite enough in that tiny movement. The shivering heat in his chest would not let him be separated from Minseok, whether by space or fabric, and there was entirely too much of that between them. Letting go of his grip on Minseok for a moment, he pulled his pajama pants down far enough that they fell loose off the end of Shorty, then shoved his own boxers down to his knees. He rolled closer and lifted Shorty enough that he could guide his cock into that space, then pressed Minseok’s thighs together. Minseok squeezed his lazy muscles, and Luhan gave a groan of approval into his shoulder.

With his hand back on Minseok’s cock, Luhan rolled his hips in slow, languid drags. Every movement was still tinged with the edge of sleep, so that the slide of him between Minseok’s thighs felt like the most delicious kind of waking stretch. When he moved his hand down to roll across Minseok’s balls, he could feel the head of his own cock pressing behind them, and the heat of it in his stomach was almost more than he could take.

Minseok’s every breath bordered on a moan. His eyes were still closed, but his hips pushed forward into Luhan’s touch as he encouraged his pace with a hand on Luhan’s wrist. Luhan thumbed over the tip just to watch him shudder. Minseok’s head was resting on his other arm, and if Luhan twisted a little he could lift that hand to Minseok’s chest, trace along his collarbone and down, hear the catch of Minseok’s breath in his throat as he stroked the lightest touch over his nipple.

“ _Oh-_ ”

Again, gentle and sweet, the softest brush of fingers as he tightened his grip around Minseok’s cock and rocked himself in between his thighs.

“ _Mm-_ ”

“Mhm.”

Luhan sucked a kiss into the skin just below Minseok’s ear, then took his earlobe between his teeth and his nipple stud between his fingers and tugged on both of them at the same time.

“ _M- mmh-_ ”

It was so incredibly rewarding, watching Minseok fall apart in his arms like this. As Luhan ran his thumb just under the crown of Minseok’s cock and twisted the little bar through his nipple, Minseok gasped and shivered through the waves of his orgasm. His hand shook as it moved from Luhan’s wrist, sliding down between his own thighs to feel the head of Luhan’s cock thrusting through him. The moan in his throat, the trembling touch of his fingers - it was enough. Luhan buried his face in Minseok’s neck and came in a shuddering rush.

There was a long interval of silence, save for the thundering of hearts and the gasp of recovered breath. Luhan let his hand fall back to Minseok’s stomach, rested his cheek against Minseok’s shoulder, and together they basked in the warmth of their own sunlight.

“Good morning,” Minseok said, when the sweat had dried on Luhan’s chest.

“Morning,” Luhan smiled.

Minseok didn’t roll over, just turned his head so that Luhan could crane his neck forward to kiss him.

“I guess it’s laundry day, huh?”

Luhan snorted. “Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.”

Minseok grinned and reached a hand up to pull Luhan back to his lips.

“You’re gonna need to carry me to the shower, cause if I hop I’m just gonna drip everywhere.”

Luhan hummed a little laugh into Minseok’s kiss. “With pleasure.”

-

When Luhan walked into the kitchen with the basket of clean laundry, Minseok was hanging upside-down from the bars of his gym in the corner. Luhan paused to watch him do a half a dozen sit-ups, his forehead almost touching his knee at the top of each crunch.

“Hey, Spiderman.”

Minseok flashed a grin at him on the way up.

“You’re gonna do the thing again, aren’t you?”

“Mmmhm.” Luhan dropped the laundry basket and caught Minseok’s head on the way down so he could kiss him. Minseok giggled, his nose bumping against Luhan’s chin, and Luhan nipped another kiss from his lips before letting him go. “Okay. As you were.”

Minseok laughed and went back to his sit-ups, and Luhan began folding the laundry onto the dining table. He was halfway through sorting the socks when the doorbell rang.

“I got it.” Luhan jumped up and ran to the intercom.

“It’s probably Xingy,” Minseok said, grabbing the bar and lowering himself to the ground. “He said he was gonna come over today.”

Luhan switched on the camera feed and nodded.

“Hey, Xing!”

On the screen, Yixing leaned towards the microphone.

_“Hello, good morning!”_

“C’mon in.” Luhan hit the unlock button and turned the screen off. At the other end of the hall, Yixing pushed the door open.

“Good morning,” he repeated, meandering into the kitchen and giving them a sunny smile. “How are you?”

“Good.” Minseok hopped over to hug Yixing, then across to the kitchen counter to slide into his wheelchair. “What’s going on today?”

“Okay, there’s two things.” Yixing plopped onto a barstool and slid his tablet out of its sleeve. “I did the news scan for the weekend, and this was quite nice.” He turned the tablet towards Luhan and Minseok.

_A WINNING FRIENDSHIP_

Beneath the headline was a photo of Luhan and Amber at _East Xtreme_. Luhan recognised it as the moment when he’d dropped to his knees to hug Amber after her win was announced, her hands clutching at his shoulders, their faces pressed together, both of them smiling.

_The Lee Memorial Stadium was a site of celebration on Saturday as Amber Liu narrowly beat long-time rival Lu Han into second place to take home the gold medal for the senior inline skating division of the East Xtreme Sports Championship. Liu, 23, has set a regional record as the first woman ever to win the division. The previous record of second place was held by Victoria Song, and until Saturday had remained unbroken for twelve years, despite several of Liu’s attempts to beat it. Previous attempts had matched Song’s placing record, but not her score in points. With this victory, Liu has beaten both._

_In addition to breaking Song’s record, Liu also broke a four-year winning streak for reigning champion Lu Han. The 24-year-old skater has previously taken home the regional gold medal every year since he exploded onto the skating scene, and last year managed to add another level of gold to that collection with a win at the World Xtreme Sports Championship._

_In spite of the shocking defeat for Lu, there were no hard feelings between the pair. Upon seeing Liu’s victory, the first order of business for these competitors was a hug. It seems the two are very close friends outside the rink; sources close to the pair tell us Liu will play a part in Lu’s wedding to inline skating legend Kim Minseok later this year._

“Aww, that’s cute,” Luhan said.

“Skating legend,” Minseok whispered. “Nice.”

“I wonder who their source was,” Luhan smirked. “Who’s the journalist?”

“Kim someone,” Yixing said, scrolling back up the page to check. “Kim Junmyeon.”

“Never heard of him,” Minseok said. “Is he a new reporter?”

Yixing shrugged. “Probably. I’m not familiar with the name.”

“I like him,” Luhan said. “That’s some wholesome journalism right there.”

“Yes, it was rather pleasant to find.” Yixing turned his tablet back around and flicked open his emails. “The rest were garbage, mostly. You know there were more articles about how you came second than about Amber making history?”

Luhan rolled his eyes. “Disappointed, but not surprised.”

“What else you got for us, Xingy?” Minseok leaned forward to rest his elbows on the counter.

“Okay,” Yixing opened an email and looked up at Luhan. “I have a sponsorship offer for you to consider, Lu.”

“Ooh!” Minseok nudged Luhan in the ribs. “Cool shit.”

“What is it?”

“Wrap It Up.”

Luhan blinked. “The… condom ads?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, that’s weird.” Minseok said. “My agent just signed me for them last week.”

“Yes…” Yixing scratched the back of his neck. “They want you to do this particular campaign together.”

Minseok and Luhan looked at each other.

“Uh.” Minseok frowned. “They know we’re a couple, right?”

Yixing nodded. “That… seemed to be the point.”

Luhan pulled a face. “Is this gonna be an uncomfortably close glimpse into our sex life? Because…”

“Yeah,” Minseok said, “I’m all for the cause, I just don’t know if I really want to get _that_ real.”

“You can turn it down if you want,” Yixing said.

“I mean, _I_ can’t,” Minseok said, “I’m already in. But you can say no, Lu.”

Luhan pursed his lips, studying Minseok’s face.

“Hmm. I dunno.”

Yixing nodded and opened a new email. “I’ll tell them no.”

“Nah,” Luhan stopped him. “Fuck it. I’ll do it.”

“Really?” Yixing looked surprised.

Luhan shrugged. “Yeah, why not. It’ll be fun.”

Minseok smirked. “Let’s use our sex life to educate the public.”

“Exactly. What else is it good for?”

Minseok snorted a laugh and buried his face in Luhan’s arm.

“Okay, awesome.” Yixing went back to his email. “I’ll tell them you’re in.”

“My sex life is a _great_ cautionary tale,” Minseok said, getting up and hopping around the counter to the coffee machine.

Luhan raised an eyebrow. “Should I be offended?”

“Yeah, I’m not touching that one,” Yixing muttered.

Minseok laughed and switched the coffee grinder on. “Sorry, can’t hear you!”

Luhan caught Yixing’s gaze and rolled his eyes.

-

Standing on the upper concourse, Luhan surveyed the great stadium. It looked so much bigger from up here than it did from below, for which Luhan was grateful - the crowd was much less daunting by the time you hit the half-pipe.

After this many years the whole thing felt comfortable rather than intimidating, anyway. By now it was just the logical progression from _East_.

“Luhan.”

Luhan glanced to the side, then let his eyes flick back to the rink.

“Mark.”

Mark Tuan rested his elbows on the guard rail beside him, following Luhan’s gaze down to the skateboarders doing their early morning warmup.

“I trust you’ve had a good year?” Luhan continued.

“Thank you, yes. And yourself?”

Luhan took a sip of his coffee. “Very good, thanks.”

There was an interval of silence, while Luhan contemplated how much something as simple as a latte could differ between countries.

“I hear you’re getting married.”

Luhan nodded. “In three weeks.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Another second of silence.

“I was always slightly annoyed that I never got to compete against him.” Luhan glanced over just in time to see a little smirk arrive on Mark’s face. “Now I see why, obviously.”

 _What_ , Luhan thought, _you thought he heard about you and got scared?_

“I think he was slightly annoyed he didn’t get the chance to collect his seventh world gold,” Luhan said.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have felt so satisfied at the way the smirk fell off Mark’s lips. Luhan took a long sip of his coffee and let the silence speak for him.

“Good luck today,” Mark said, straightening up and shoving his hands into his pockets.

“And you,” Luhan replied.

A year ago, he would have expected some reply to that, perhaps accompanied by an I-don’t-need-luck sneer. Now, Mark turned and walked away.

Luhan observed the stadium for another minute, then went to find Amber and Minseok.

 _East Xtreme_ , being a qualifying round, was an open tournament. Competing at _World_ , on the other hand, was by invitation only, and that meant a marked division between those invitees and the rest of the stadium. Luhan found Minseok and Amber in the competitors’ area, a whole seating block roped off from the rest of the stands and set up for the athletes and their coaches.

“Where have you been?” Amber said as he strolled up beside them.

“Just went for a walk. I ran into Mark.”

Amber raised a surprised eyebrow. “Lee?”

“Tuan.”

“Oh.” She pulled a face. “What did he have to say?”

“A bunch of nothing, really. Said good luck. He didn’t seem as smug as last year.”

Minseok smirked. “I wonder why. He’s got both of you to worry about this time.”

Amber blew a dismissive raspberry at him and returned to mixing up her electrolyte drink.

“Have you guys just been hanging out here?” Luhan said to Minseok.

“Pretty much.” Minseok leaned back in his wheelchair and stretched his arms over his head. “Nothing’s been happening, they’ve just been playing ads on the screen. Is there anything left in that?” He nodded at Luhan’s coffee.

“Yeah, go for it.” Luhan handed him the cup. “Did they really let you in here without your coach tag on? The security dude gave me a fuckin hard time about keeping my ID on me.”

“My face is ID enough,” Minseok smirked.

Amber snorted. “Yeah right. He just took it off and put it in his pocket as soon as we got in.”

Minseok stuck his tongue out at her. “Well it _should_ be enough.”

She just laughed, nodding a greeting at two of the skaters walking past their front-row perch.

“Who are they?” Luhan asked.

“First and third from the Northeastern Championships.”

Minseok turned to consider the pair as they wandered up the stands. “How did the points pan out? I told rocket boy he should go do the Northeasterns as well for another shot at qualifying if he didn’t want to just bank on you double-qualifying and hope he scored better than their third place - which he obviously didn’t.”

Amber wrinkled her nose. “I think she pushed him out by like twenty points. They score weirdly at the Northeasterns, though, so he might have had a shot at beating her if he’d competed. I dunno.”

“You should’ve gone and triple-qualified to see if you could get him in,” Luhan grinned.

“I don’t have time for that many competitions, dude!”

Minseok laughed. “I dragged so many people up to _World_ back in the day,” he said. “I’d do _East_ and the Northeasterns, obviously, but then I’d also do _Continental_ , and sometimes even _Atlantic_ just for shits and giggles. Third place loved me.” He stopped, shivered, then shook himself and sat up in his chair.

“Dude, you realise if you hadn’t been cleaning out the gold medals they all would have placed second and qualified anyway, right?” Amber raised her eyebrows at him as she took a sip of her drink.

“Well, not _all_ of them,” Minseok said.

“All but one.”

“Yes, and that one was very grateful when I went and beat someone else so that they could jump up to _World_ with me!”

“Seriously, dude,” Amber shook her head, “how did more people not have a vendetta against you?”

_“It’s about my health.”_

Luhan jumped and did a double-take, because that was Minseok’s voice, but it wasn’t coming from Minseok’s mouth-

_“It’s about being in charge of my own body.”_

And then Luhan realised with a drop of his stomach, because now it was _his_ voice, and he knew those words, and suddenly he understood. These weren’t just ads playing on the big screen; this was the sponsorship reel. Every competitor with a professional sponsorship had their ad up there, and that meant-

_“It’s about taking responsibility.”_

Luhan looked up just in time to see Minseok’s face disappear from the screen. A basketball dropped neatly through a hoop, and as Minseok rolled into frame Luhan appeared from the other side, high fiving him as he whizzed past on his skates.

 _Just bros being bros, really,_ Luhan thought, _except everybody knows these two particular bros are gay. What a concept._

The shot changed, and Luhan and Minseok were now sitting side-by-side.

 _“It makes me feel like I’m in control,”_ on-screen Luhan said.

_“I like it when you’re in control.”_

On the ground, Luhan gave a surprised laugh. That had been an adlib on Minseok’s part - an outtake, Luhan had thought. It wasn’t in the script, and neither was the way Luhan laughed and pushed Minseok’s grinning face away, or the way Minseok grabbed Luhan’s hand off his cheek and interlaced their fingers, or the way Luhan tugged on that hand just to pull Minseok a little closer.

A shot of Luhan spinning through the air, landing the flip and skidding to a stop to brush his hair out of his eyes and adjust his wrist guard.

_“You always gotta wear your armour, man.”_

_“You wouldn’t get into the rink without protection-”_

_“-so why get into bed without it?”_

Cut back to the two of them sitting together.

 _“It’s about respect for yourself and your partner,”_ Minseok said.

 _“It’s about being sure,”_ Luhan agreed. _“It’s more fun for everyone when you take the guesswork out.”_

_“It’s about looking after yourself.”_

They were smiling at each other on the screen now, turned together in their seats so that Luhan’s knee passed through Shorty’s empty space to almost touch Minseok’s other thigh.

Luhan had a moment of appreciation that the director hadn’t tried to gloss over Minseok’s body. Sitting on a barstool in his basketball shorts, it was very obvious where the fabric fell flat. They hadn’t framed Shorty out. They hadn’t resisted showing Minseok in his wheelchair in the shots where he was shooting hoops. They hadn’t tried to make him look Not Disabled.

Luhan felt a burst of pride in the brand he was representing.

_“Keep it fun-”_

_“Keep it safe-”_

_“Wrap It Up!”_ they chorused.

The screen cut to the company’s logo.

_Always use a condom._ __  
_Lu Han and Kim Minseok_ __  
_for_ _  
_ _Wrap It Up_

“Dude.” Amber held up a hand as the next ad started playing. “That was fucking _nice!_ ”

Luhan accepted her high five, a grin on his face.

“We did good,” Minseok agreed. “I like how it turned out.”

“I kind of expected them to send it to us first,” Luhan said, “rather than dropping it at _World_ with no notice.”

Minseok shrugged. “It’s probably sitting in Yixing’s inbox somewhere, buried under a pile of your fanmail.”

Luhan snorted. “Probably.”

The rink began to clear of skateboarders, and Amber bent down to grab her skates from her bag.

“Warm-up time, dude. Let’s fucking go.”

-

The competition that night took just about everything Luhan had. By the time he landed his final flip and skidded over a last L.A. grind, it was all he could do to slide into an upright finish. He held it, standing in the middle of the rink for just long enough to declare himself done, then fell to his hands and knees. Clawing the air into his lungs felt harder than the 1440 he’d just landed, and it was a long moment before he could gather the strength to push himself up off his elbows. For the first time, he was grateful for skating last - there was no-one else waiting to take the rink, no pressure for him to rush as he climbed to his feet and skated slowly to the gate at the end. On the other side of the barrier, Amber was waiting. Luhan staggered into her arms and let her take his weight, let her drag him to the bench and pour him into a seat next to Minseok.

“Here, drink this.” Minseok uncapped Luhan’s water bottle and pushed it into his hands. Luhan took a grateful gulp, half of which went down his chin in clumsy exhaustion.

“Did I do well?” he gasped. He glanced at the bottle and briefly considered splashing it over his face before deciding that would be a sticky waste of electrolytes.

“Yes,” Minseok said simply.

“You were really good,” Amber said. “Drink some more, dude.”

Luhan just nodded into the bottle, too tired to speak anymore. Air was better used for breathing than talking.

By the time his head had stopped buzzing, the points were in. The board honked an announcement, and they all turned to look.

_THIRD PLACE_

Luhan realised he had genuinely no expectations for the placings. He couldn’t summon the brain power to take a guess at how well he’d skated compared to everyone else, nor to hope for first or second or any place at all.

_Mark Tuan_

Applause, cheers. Luhan did not bother to search out Mark’s face for any hint of relief or disappointment - he knew Mark was too diplomatic to show either and would probably just be nodding politely and clapping with everyone else.

Another honk, and all eyes turned back to the board.

_SECOND PLACE_

Luhan took a sip of his electrolyte water. Beside him, Amber was holding her breath.

_Amber Liu_

A gasp at his elbow.

“Oh my god-”

Fingers dug into his arm, and it was only as the cheering became deafening that Luhan’s brain snapped back into place and he realised that the highest scoring female inline skater in history was throwing her arms around his neck.

“Amber!”

“Holy shit-”

“You _fucking did it_ -”

“ _Aaaahhhhh!_ ”

The board honked again, but it took a tap of Minseok’s hand to drag Luhan’s eyes away from the tears streaming down over Amber’s smile.

_FIRST PLACE_

And now Luhan was hoping. Now that Amber had placed he could let himself hope, could bite his lip and eyeball the board for the breathtaking second until-

_Lu Han_

“ _Yes!_ ” Minseok grabbed Luhan’s hand and lifted it into the air. “That’s my baby!”

Amber’s arms were around him again, squeezing him almost out of his seat as she bounced jubilantly up and down.

“Holy shit, I won.”

“Fuck yes you did!”

Luhan hugged her, then turned to Minseok and took his face between his hands.

“Babe, I did it.”

“Of course you did.” Minseok was beaming, tears in his eyes, and when Luhan kissed him he melted forward, wound his arms around Luhan’s neck and pulled him close, uncaring of the crowd around them. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered into Luhan’s lips. “You’re the _reigning_ world champion now.”

“What can I say? I have a really good coach.”

Minseok laughed, broke away and rested his forehead against Luhan’s. “You’re so-”

“Grateful.” Luhan kissed him again. “For you. For your support. The hours of practise. All of it.”

Minseok just shook his head, still smiling. “You’re incredible, baby. You’re legendary.”

“I’m _really_ tired.”

That got him another laugh. “I can imagine. Go on.” Minseok sat back and nodded toward the cluster of athletes gathering in preparation for prizegiving. “Go get yourself a medal.”

Luhan found the energy to get to his feet, and walk over to the winners’ circle, and stand on the podium between Amber and Mark to receive his gold medal.

He also found the energy, after it was all over, to take Minseok back to the hotel and push him down into the mattress and celebrate with him into the early hours of the morning, until they fell asleep sweaty and satisfied and tangled so closely together that Luhan could feel Minseok’s heartbeat inside his own.

That, in itself, was a pretty good prize.

-

Luhan straightened his bowtie and eyed himself in the mirror. He didn’t _think_ there was anything missing - nothing looked out of place - but he was terrified he was going to walk out and realise he’d forgotten something. He patted his pockets: his handkerchief was neatly folded; his cards were safely tucked away next to his heart, all double-checked and in order; all his other pockets were empty of potential disturbances like keys or phones. Everything was in place. There was nothing else to do but do it.

“Hey.” Baekhyun appeared behind him in the mirror. “You ready to go?”

Luhan swallowed hard and gave himself another once-over. “I’m really nervous,” he admitted.

“I can imagine.” Baekhyun let go of the door and came to stand at his shoulder. “You look suave as hell, my dude. Blue was a good call.”

Luhan ran a hand down the lapel of his tuxedo. “I’m scared I’m gonna fuck it up.”

Baekhyun shook his head. “You can’t fuck this one up, man. This is a guaranteed gold.” He glanced at his watch. “C’mon, let’s get going.”

Luhan met his own eyes in the mirror and nodded. Time to do this.

They stepped out into the corridor, where Amber was waiting for them.

“Are we ready?”

Luhan nodded. “We’re ready.” His heart had taken up residence between his tonsils, and he reached down to squeeze Baekhyun’s hand for courage.

Amber stuck her head around the door to give a signal to someone on the other side, then stepped back and held out a hand to Luhan.

“Take it away, dude.”

Luhan took hold of the door handle and waited until the music began to play. He counted to three. He took a deep breath. He opened the door.

The hall was beautifully decorated. Ribbons and flowers lined the walls, the sun was streaming through the high windows, the seats were filled with every single important person in his life - Luhan could see none of it. He could focus on nothing else, not when the door opposite him was opening and the most beautiful man in the world was appearing before him.

Luhan couldn’t move for a moment, couldn’t do anything other than stare. Minseok’s hair had been purple this morning, but somewhere in the four hours since they’d last seen each other, it had changed. Black streaked through with gold to match his jewellery, neatly styled to sweep across his forehead and curl around his ears - Minseok shone as he looked up from the floor.

Behind him, Yixing held his wheelchair steady as Minseok braced his hands on the armrests, positioned his feet, and stood.

Luhan felt Baekhyun’s finger prodding at his back, and he took a step forward into the hall. From the opposite door, Minseok was making his way towards him, putting one foot carefully in front of the other - uneven, but not unsteady, and entirely unaided.

Dimly Luhan registered murmurs of astonishment through the congregation; Minseok, as private as ever, hadn’t publicised his trials and tribulations with the prosthetic leg, so seeing him on two feet was no doubt a shock to most of the guests. To Luhan, however, it was the visible culmination of a year of hard work, of determination and frustration and too many exhausted tears. And now Minseok was meeting him in the middle of the room, solid and upright and beaming from ear to ear.

Luhan took him by the hands and echoed his smile, breathless with the delight of Minseok’s beauty.

“Friends, family, loved ones. Thank you for joining us today to celebrate the marriage of Kim Minseok and Lu Han.”

Luhan knew he should probably be looking at the officiant, but he couldn’t tear himself away from Minseok’s smile, the crinkle at the corner of his eyes, the blush across his cheeks.

“We are gathered to honour a relationship built on the kind of love that we should all be so lucky as to experience in our lives. Those of us who have known Luhan and Minseok through the years of their relationship can attest to the strength and fierceness of their dedication to each other, both in their personal and professional lives. Today we witness their commitment and their promise to love and support each other, for better or worse, for gold medal or last place, for the rest of their lives.”

They all laughed, and Minseok squeezed Luhan’s hands. There was a sparkle in his eyes, a joy that made Luhan want to pull him close and kiss that smile into every inch of his face.

“Every person here today is an important part of Minseok and Luhan’s lives, and your presence in this room is a reminder that no matter where their journey takes them from here, they will always be able to count on the support of their friends and family. In particular, on the stage with us, we have Minseok’s friend Yixing and cousin Jongdae, and Luhan’s friends Baekhyun and Amber. I would like to invite them each now to say a few words in support of Minseok and Luhan.”

The officiant handed the microphone to Baekhyun, who cleared his throat and straightened his jacket before giving them all a cocky grin.

“Thanks for coming today, everyone. I’m Byun Baekhyun, Luhan’s best man.” He turned to speak directly to Luhan. “Lu, I would first of all like to state for the record that I was kidding when I told you you should go find Minseok and ask him to coach you.” He paused for laughter while Luhan resisted the urge to facepalm. “That said, I’m really glad you did. In the time you two have been together, you’ve not only become a world champion, which you _definitely_ could not have done on your own-” the congregation laughed as Luhan conceded this with a nod, “- but you’ve also grown so much as a person, and it makes me so proud to be your best friend.” His voice was serious now as he reached out to place his hand on Luhan’s arm. “The way you two love each other is like a beacon for the rest of us. When you talk about Minseok you light up. When you’re together it warms the room. It’s like you were created to exist side-by-side. I could not be more grateful that you found each other.” He squeezed Luhan’s elbow, then turned to Minseok.

“Minseok. We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well over the last few years, and I’m proud to call you my friend. It’s probably my job here to tell you to take good care of my boy, but I don’t think I need to. I know you’ll look after him, and he’ll look after you, and you’ll keep setting an example for the rest of us of how love should be done.” He clapped Minseok on the shoulder. “Congratulations, you guys. I love you both so much, and I’m really happy for you.”

He handed the microphone to Amber and hugged first Minseok, then Luhan. When the applause quieted Amber stepped forward, cue cards in hand.

“Uh, hey, I’m Amber. I think I’m probably the only person up here who didn’t know Luhan or Minseok before they were together, so uh, I don’t think I can tell you how love’s changed everything, but let me say this: when I first met you two, I saw you skate, Luhan, and then you ran straight to Minseok and you guys kissed like there was no tomorrow.” She grinned as Minseok gave a snort of laughter into Luhan’s shoulder. “And like, that was pretty much all you needed to know about you two. It was just so obvious right from that moment that you guys are everything to each other, and you don’t care who sees it or what they think. I just think that’s so admirable in a relationship, you know? You guys are such couple goals, and I know you hate me saying that, but it’s true. Just, the first thing I learned about you, Luhan, was that you were so in love with this guy. Like you’d just won a gold medal, but that wasn’t the important thing, what was important was the fact that your boyfriend was there to see it.” She paused and considered the two of them for a moment.

“We obviously became friends real soon after that, like you know you’re my best guy friend, our bromance makes the front page-” Luhan laughed and nodded, “- and I’m being completely honest when I say that I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who could be better for you than this dude right here. Minseok, I dunno if you were a different person before you met Luhan, but the impression I always got from videos and articles and stuff was that you were this really cocky guy and like, you were a celebrity so you were kind of untouchable. But like, actually knowing you and seeing you with Luhan, you’re a real sweetheart, like I was surprised when I realised it was you cause it’s just so obvious how sweet and soft you are when you’re with Luhan, which is always, and I dunno if that’s a thing that he did to you, but it’s really awesome, honestly, it’s my favourite thing about you.” She shoved her cue cards back into her pocket. “So yeah, you guys are two of my favourite people, and I’m so happy that you’re gonna spend the rest of your lives together, and also really happy that I get to be a part of this ceremony, cause honestly it means a lot to me that you want me to be up here celebrating with you. Congrats, you two. Bring it in, group hug.”

Luhan reached out to draw her in and she threw her arms around them both.

“Congratulations,” she whispered between them.

“Thank you,” Luhan murmured, holding her close for another moment while the congregation applauded. After a second she stepped back, cleared her throat, and handed the microphone back to the officiant, who passed it to Jongdae.

“Hi everyone, I’m Kim Jongdae. I’m Minseok’s cousin. Thank you all for being here with us today, I’m really pleased to see so much love from so many people for Minseok and Luhan.

“I think I’m probably a bit of an outlier here in that I’m not involved in the sport scene at all, so a lot of you won’t know me. I know there’s a lot of basketball and a lot of skating in this room, but I know very little about them, so forgive me for that.” He flipped a cue card over and pushed his glasses up his nose. “What I do know about skating is that my cousin was really good at it. And I know he was really devastated when he couldn’t do it anymore.” Minseok nodded, and Jongdae gave him a sad smile. “There was a long time where I was really worried, where I thought Minseok would never be happy again, not like he was before his accident. And then all of a sudden - it maybe happened over a period of a couple of weeks, but suddenly something changed. There was this energy, this sense of life, that I hadn’t seen in him for- for years. And then he introduced me to Luhan. And I realised - that’s what it was.” He seemed to be holding back a smile. “I don’t think we got off to a very good start, Luhan and I.”

Luhan blinked, then laughed. No, he remembered, he and Jongdae hadn’t made the best of first impressions.

“But we got to know each other, and I realised this kid had more than just a cute face and a six pack - there was a spark in him, an enthusiasm for everything, and it was really infectious, and I realised that’s what I was seeing reflected in Minseok.” He turned to Minseok. “I don’t want to pretend that ‘love cured you’ or anything like that, but I think in Luhan you found someone who was willing to push you to be better, to get out of the house and start living again. And I think… I think that’s really special.” He smiled, first at Minseok and then at Luhan. “Welcome to the family, Luhan. I’m happy to have gained you as a cousin and I wish the two of you all the luck in the world for your life together.”

He handed the microphone to Yixing, who was already red in the nose and biting one quivering lip between his teeth.

“Hi - I’m Zhang Yixing,” he whispered into the microphone, then sniffed and gulped back a sob as tears began to trickle down his cheeks.

“Oh, Xingy.” Minseok held out a hand, and Yixing grabbed it, turning to speak directly to him instead of the congregation.

“I’ve known you since we- we were kids.” He was struggling to speak evenly, every other word punctuated with a sniff. “We- we’ve been th- through so m- much together, you and I-” he broke off and pressed the back of his wrist between his eyes as if he could pull himself together that way. Jongdae began rubbing his back soothingly, and after a moment Yixing brought the microphone back to his mouth.

“We’ve had good times, and we’ve- we’ve had hard times.” He gave another shuddering sob, and Minseok nodded, running a thumb over Yixing’s knuckles. “And through all of it, all- all I’ve ever wanted is for y- y- for you to be h- _happy_.” He let the microphone fall to his side and hung his head for a moment to hide his face as he tried to sniff himself under control, then looked back at Minseok and continued with an effort. “I’m so glad you’ve found your forever love. I’m glad you’ve- you’ve found the person who can give you everything. And I’m glad it’s Luhan.” He smiled, and it was shaky and more than a little wet, but it was genuine nonetheless. “Luhan, I’m really- really grateful for you. I remember when you started coming to the rink, when you were seventeen - you were just this little wobbly kid, but you still had this- this confidence. You knew you were going to do great things. And I remember thinking, _gosh, he’s just like Minseok_. So when you asked me about Minseok one day, and I told you to forget it, I really wished I didn’t have to. I really wished that I could introduce you. And you found each other anyway, and I’m really glad you did-” he was crying again now, tears rolling down his face and dripping off his chin.

“I just- I want you both to be happy for the rest of your lives. I don’t ever want you to hurt. I hope you can always be as happy as you are today, forever.” He sniffed and gave another hiccupping sob. “Th- that’s all I’ve got to say. Congratulations. I love you.”

Minseok stepped away from Luhan’s side to pull Yixing into a hug. They clung to each other for a long minute, and Luhan couldn’t hear what they were murmuring to each other, but when Yixing straightened up he was smiling. He turned to Luhan and hugged him as well.

“Love him the best you possibly can,” he whispered into Luhan’s ear. “Make him happy for the rest of his life. Please. Do that for me.”

Luhan nodded. “I hope you’ll always be by our side to share in our happiness.”

Yixing made a tiny, wet noise of agreement and buried his face in Luhan’s shoulder. Luhan patted him on the back, waiting until Yixing seemed to have brought himself under control to pull back and give him a smile.

“Thank you,” he said. Yixing nodded, lip between his teeth again, and fell back beside Jongdae as the officiant took the microphone.

“Marriage is about the joining of two people for life. It is not the formation of a new relationship, but rather the recognition and affirmation of an existing bond, and a promise to keep and strengthen that bond every day for as long as you live. It is a declaration of your dedication to one another.

“Minseok and Luhan, the promises you make to each other today will carry you through your entire lives. Today, you vow to love and cherish each other from now until the very end. No matter what challenges or troubles you may face in the future, you will overcome them together. You will support each other, and encourage each other, for better or for worse, through all darkness and light, in the hardest times and in the happiest. The bond of marriage between you will be your greatest strength, your greatest source of comfort, the most enduring force of your lives. By each other’s side, you will both do incredible things.”

Minseok’s smile was the most brilliant, radiant thing Luhan had ever seen. Even as he lifted a hand to wipe his eyes, he couldn’t stop beaming.

“Luhan and Minseok have written their own vows,” the officiant said to the congregation. “Minseok, will you go first?”

Minseok nodded and let go of Luhan’s hand to reach into his inside pocket and pull out his cue cards.

“I remember one spring morning,” he began, eyes flicking between the cards and the smile on Luhan’s face. “I was sitting at my dining table. I’d just made myself a cup of coffee, I was on the phone to my cousin, and I was telling him that I was okay being alone. And then my doorbell rang.”

Over Minseok’s shoulder, Luhan saw Jongdae’s hand come up to cover his mouth.

“And there was this boy,” Minseok continued. “He’d stolen my address from my friend’s phone at the skating rink-”

“ _What?_ ” Yixing whispered.

“- and he’d come to find me to convince me to be his coach.”

He grinned up at Luhan, eyes sparkling, and Luhan was reminded of the way he had looked that first day, smirking up at him from his wheelchair as Luhan kept opening his mouth to change feet.

“I told him no,” Minseok said. “I turned him away, I told him I didn’t want to know.” He tilted his head to the side, his expression softer now. “I almost made the biggest mistake of my life.” His hand slid into Luhan’s, and for a moment they just looked at each other. “But he came back. And I thought… maybe that was a sign. I thought if the world was throwing us together, maybe that meant that something was supposed to happen here. So I said yes. And it was the best decision I ever made.”

Luhan squeezed his hand. The look on Minseok’s face was so soft, so gentle, that Luhan began to feel the first prick of tears at the back of his eyes.

“Luhan, ever since the first day you walked into my life you’ve made me feel special, and valuable, and wanted. I cannot imagine my world without you. Every day I find something new to love about you - today it’s… it’s the way your hand feels like it was made to fit mine. I want to live the rest of my days with you by my side.” Minseok paused to wipe his eyes. “I promise to love and care for you for the rest of my life. I promise to support you in everything you do. I promise to catch you when you fall, and if I can’t, at least I’ll be there to pick you up off the ground when you slide down the ramp on your face.” They laughed together, Minseok’s eyes bright with joyful tears. “You have given my existence a meaning and a purpose that I didn’t even know I needed; there’s nothing I want more out of my life than to spend it with you.

“Luhan, I choose to be with you forever. I choose to stand by your side, to sleep in your arms, to dance with you in the kitchen and play footsie with you under the table - despite the unfair advantage you have. I want to give you everything that I am for the rest of eternity. I want to love you for all my life and more.”

In that moment, Luhan desired nothing more than to sweep Minseok into his arms and kiss all his love into that smile. Instead he held Minseok’s hand tightly and reached into his own jacket to take the cards from next to his heart as the officiant asked him to read his vows.

“Minseok.” Luhan stopped, cleared his throat, and tried again without the catch of emotion behind his eyes. “Minseok, you are the most incredible person I have ever met. You’re sweet, and loving, and generous to a fault. You’re also stubborn as hell, get way too much of a laugh out of teasing me, and have an ego that could fill the Lee Stadium.” Minseok acquiesced with a giggle. “I learned all of that within ten minutes of meeting you. And somehow, three and a half years later, I’m still amazed by it every day.” He took a moment to look at Minseok, the way his smile pushed his cheeks into rosy apples, the way his eyes shone as brightly as the gold and glittering diamonds in his ears, his nose, his lip - 

“I love you. I love the way you get bored of your hair and change it every six weeks. I love that you sleep with three teddy bears, and how you pretend to freak out every time of them falls off the bed. I love the way Shorty dances when you’re standing at the counter making coffee in the morning. I love your stupid trust falls, and the way you do them at the weirdest times like you know I’ll never drop you.

“I didn’t know it was possible to love like this before I met you. You make me feel things I don’t have a name for. I want that for the rest of my life, I want you with me, I want us pushing each other to do the things we dream of, cheering each other on and celebrating every victory together. I always say that I don’t need wings - but I do need you.”

Minseok sniffed and pressed his lips tightly together, nodding rapidly as he blinked the tears off his eyelashes.

“Minseok, I choose to be with you until the world ends. I choose to grow old with you - you’ll get there first, but that’s okay, I can catch up. I promise to always protect your heart and your smile. I promise to keep you by my side and in my arms, whether that’s to hold you at night or to carry you up the stairs when you’re too tired to hop. I want to be with you for the rest of my life and then some. I will belong to you forever.”

He let go of Minseok’s hand to brush his tears away with one gentle thumb. Minseok reached up to cup Luhan’s hand on his face, still smiling as another tear trickled down his cheek.

“May I please have the rings?”

Baekhyun and Yixing produced Minseok and Luhan’s rings respectively and handed them to the officiant.

“Luhan, do you take Minseok to be your lawful husband, to love and cherish, to honour and protect, for all your life and more?”

Luhan looked into Minseok’s eyes and saw every answer he had ever needed.

“I do.”

“And Minseok, do you take Luhan to be your lawful husband, to love and cherish, to honour and protect, for all your life and more?”

Minseok’s smile was so ecstatically wide, Luhan thought it might break his face.

“I do.”

“Luhan, please take Minseok’s ring and place it on his finger as a symbol of your eternal love and unending promise.”

Luhan took the tiny gold band and placed it on the tip of Minseok’s finger. He held it there for the space of a heartbeat, then slid it all the way on.

“And Minseok, please take Luhan’s ring and place it on his finger as a symbol of your eternal love and unending promise.”

Minseok’s hands shook as he took the ring and slid it onto Luhan’s finger. Something in Luhan’s heart clicked into place, a warmth that started beneath the gold band and spread through his entire body until he could feel his very soul thrumming to Minseok’s frequency.

“It is my great joy to pronounce you married. You may now kiss.”

Luhan had never heard more beautiful words in his life. Taking Minseok by the hands, he pulled him in and leaned down to meet him with his entire heart on his lips.

The congregation was applauding, Amber and Baekhyun were cheering behind him, Yixing was sobbing, and Luhan’s whole world was wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him fiercely, deeply, until they both ran out of breath and Luhan had to tear away and rest his forehead against Minseok’s.

“Hey Luhan,” Minseok whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Trust fall.”

Luhan laughed and took Minseok’s weight, dipping him to the side and kissing him again and again as Minseok giggled into his lips.

-

When all the toasts had been made and the dinner mostly demolished, Minseok tapped his glass, rose from his seat, and extended his hand to Luhan.

“Are you ready for a first dance with your husband?”

Luhan laughed and nodded. “Absolutely.”

“I warn you,” Minseok said, as they walked out onto the floor to whistles and applause, “I’m all left feet.”

Luhan snorted and wrapped one arm around Minseok’s waist. As the lights came down and the music came up, he pulled him in until, with a little duck of his head, they were cheek to cheek.

“I love you,” he murmured into Minseok’s ear as they began to sway slowly to the music.

“I love you too,” Minseok whispered.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.”

Minseok hummed and pressed his smile into Luhan’s jaw. “Me too. Can you take a bit of my weight? Shorty’s getting tired.”

“Mhm.” Luhan shifted his hold on Minseok’s hip, and he gave a breath of relief.

“I decided,” he continued, “since it’s a special day, I should think of _two_ new things I love about you.”

“Wow, really?” Luhan kissed his temple. “What else did you think of?”

“Mm. This.” Minseok brushed his lips over the soft space just below the corner of Luhan’s jaw. “This right here.”

“... My neck?”

“This spot in particular,” he murmured into Luhan’s skin. “I like putting my face here. It feels safe.”

“It also turns me on when you kiss me like that, maybe don’t do that in front of everyone we know.”

Minseok laughed and pulled back to look Luhan in the eyes. “That’s good info to have.”

“I trust you not to abuse it.”

The sparkle in Minseok’s eyes told Luhan he was filing it away for future reference.

When the song ended, Luhan pulled Minseok close and kissed him, soft and lingering.

“Mmm.” Minseok brushed his nose against Luhan’s, then kissed him again. “I’m gonna go take another painkiller and dance with my mother before Shorty decides to pack it in for the night.”

“Good plan.”

By the time they finished the rounds of family dance obligations, Minseok was heavily limping.

“Babe, let’s sit.”

“Mhm.” 

Minseok bit his lip as Luhan led him to the table at the side where Soo was sitting, running his finger absent-mindedly along the stem of a half-full champagne flute. He looked up when Minseok dropped into the seat next to him.

“What’s up?” Luhan asked, pulling up Tao’s empty seat for himself.

“I’m just watching people,” Soo said.

The chair behind Luhan shifted, and he realised Kai was hovering at the edge of the group.

“Hey, dude. Come sit.”

Kai slid carefully into the chair and gave Minseok a concerned look.

“Are you in p- p- p- hurt?”

“Nah.” Minseok shook his head. “Just tired.”

“Oh, okay.” Kai’s face cleared.

Luhan turned back to Soo. “Have you been sitting here the whole time?”

Soo nodded, still contemplating the champagne flute.

“You should go dance,” Minseok suggested.

Soo shook his head.

“I don’t dance.”

“C’mon, has anyone asked you to?” Luhan said.

“No.”

“What if someone asked you to dance - like Sehun?”

Soo shrugged. “I would say no.”

“What if _I_ asked you to dance?”

“Then I would _definitely_ say no.”

“What if… Kai asked you to dance?”

Soo raised his eyebrows. His eyes flicked past Luhan to where Kai was sitting, looking startled at the sudden mention of his name.

A smile flickered into the corners of Soo’s mouth. “Then I would dance.”

They sat there for a moment, Luhan looking at Soo and Soo looking at Kai and Kai looking vaguely terrified. Then Soo pushed his champagne away and stood up.

“Come on,” he said, walking away towards the dancefloor.

Kai gaped after him.

“Go on,” Luhan jerked his head at Soo’s retreating back. Kai gave him a frantic look, then scrambled to his feet and hurried after Soo with his cheeks aflame.

“Nice,” Minseok commented. “Good matchmaking.”

“I’m not matchmaking, shut up. I’m just giving them something to do.”

Minseok raised a pointed eyebrow at the faux-disinterested hand Soo offered Kai as they reached the floor, the way Kai glanced shyly up from his feet at him, the way Soo smirked at Kai’s burning ears and pulled him close enough to fit a careful hand to his hip.

“… Huh.” Luhan pursed his lips in a little shrug. “You think?”

“Maybe. Give it a year or two,” Minseok said. “Rocket boy’s still only seventeen.”

“True. Soo’s got five years on him.”

“Not the worst age gap I’ve ever seen.”

When Luhan glanced at him, Minseok was grinning. Luhan snorted a laugh and shook his head, turning back to watch Soo lift his arm so Kai could turn cautiously underneath it.

For a few minutes he just watched the two of them dance. The song changed, and Soo stepped respectfully back, but Kai just shuffled from foot to foot and after a moment Soo took his hands again and pulled him closer. They were talking, it seemed; Kai had his head turned away, staring resolutely at Soo’s shoulder so that he wouldn’t stutter in his face, but Soo didn’t seem to mind, just ducked his head to bring his ear closer to Kai’s mouth and nodded encouragingly every time he faltered over a word.

“Hey-” Minseok leaned forward and tapped Luhan’s arm. “Look at Xingy.”

Luhan followed Minseok’s gaze and saw Yixing sitting in the far corner of the room, deep in conversation and gesticulating wildly with both hands.

“Isn’t that your cousin?”

Luhan nodded. “Yeah, that’s Zhixiang.”

Yixing ducked his head, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. As they watched, Zhixiang slapped a hand to Yixing’s back, patting him on the knee as if to affirm a point, and Yixing looked up at him, still laughing, his dimple deepening as he nodded and tapped Zhixiang’s hand emphatically. It was a familiar expression directed at an unfamiliar recipient; Luhan couldn’t help but smile.

“I was gonna go ask him to dance again,” Minseok said, “but I think I might just leave them to talk.”

“Good idea.”

Zhixiang made some deadpan comment; Yixing burst into fresh laughter and spread his hands as if appealing to an invisible audience. Zhixiang was laughing too now, snorting so loudly Luhan could hear him from across the room.

When Luhan glanced at Minseok, there was a softness to his expression, nostalgia mixed with something like relief.

“Whatcha thinking about?”

Minseok shook his head. “Nothing. Just the usual. Good for him.”

“Yeah.” Luhan looked back at Yixing, watched him grab Zhixiang by the wrist and illustrate some point on the back of his hand, saw the way Zhixiang’s eyes followed Yixing’s lips as he talked. “Good for him.”

-

As the elevator doors closed, Luhan turned to face Minseok. For a moment they just looked at each other as the floors ticked past. Then Minseok grinned.

“Hey, guess what.”

“What?”

“We’re married.”

Luhan laughed. “Oh my god, we are.”

“ _Hee!_ ” Minseok wriggled in his wheelchair. “I get to keep you forever.”

“Yeah, you do.” Luhan leaned down, braced his hands on Minseok’s armrests, and kissed him. “You get me-” a kiss, “- every day-” another, “- every night-” and another, “- for the rest of your life.”

“Only the rest of my life?” Minseok cupped Luhan’s cheeks and kissed him again.

“And then some.”

“That’s more like it.”

The elevator opened. Luhan held the door so Minseok could maneuver himself out, and together they wandered down the hallway to their room.

“Wait!” Minseok cried, as Luhan swiped the key card.

“What?” Luhan paused with his hand on the door.

“We gotta do the carrying over the threshold thing.”

“Oh, okay.” Luhan nudged the door open and turned back to Minseok. Before he could even get a hand under his leg, though, Minseok slapped him away.

“No, I’m carrying you, idiot.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m older.”

“I’m bigger.”

“I’m stronger!”

“You are not!”

“Well I have more gold medals than you!”

“I have more _legs_ than you!”

Minseok scrunched his face up, but instead of retorting he just reached up and grabbed Luhan around the waist. Luhan yelped and threw an arm out to keep from toppling over completely, and by the time he found his balance Minseok had dragged him into his lap, Luhan’s legs over one wheel and his arms around Minseok’s neck in the closest approximation of a bridal carry possible in a wheelchair.

“Okay, you win.” Luhan snuggled his cheek against Minseok’s, tucking his legs up so they wouldn’t get hit as they rolled through the doorway.

“Mmmhm.” Luhan could feel Minseok’s smirk without even looking at him.

Luhan got up and went back to close the door as Minseok parked himself by the bed.

“Okay, it’s- _ah-!_ ” Minseok stood up, took a step, and grabbed the edge of the bed to catch his weight as his prosthetic foot refused to take it.

“Oh shit, you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Minseok sat down on the bed and began unbuckling his belt. “Just need to get this thing off so I can throw it out the window.”

Luhan crouched down in front of him to help him lift his butt off the bed and slide his pants down. Minseok let them fall to his ankles and busied himself with trying to unclip the leg from the pin holding it on.

“Ugh- _ow_ -”

“Do you need a hand?”

“Yes. Just fuckin yank it, I’ve got this end- _ow-_ oh my god that’s better.”

“Are you alright? Oh no, babe-” Luhan winced as Minseok peeled off the skin-tight sock with its connecting pin to reveal a rash of blisters across Shorty, the skin red between the ink.

“It’s okay, I expected this.”

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“I mean. Yeah.”

“Oh, baby-”

“It’s okay. In years to come I’ll look back and be like ‘ah yes, on our wedding day I spent most of the evening in mild-to-moderate pain.’”

Luhan was about to open his mouth to tell him off for not taking it easy- 

“‘But kids, it was worth it to dance with your dad.’”

He looked up at Luhan then, a tiny sparkle in his grin which only grew as Luhan struggled to pick up his jaw. After a moment Minseok winked, giving Shorty a little wiggle in Luhan’s direction.

“Come on,” Luhan said, ducking his head to hide the ridiculous smile he could feel on his face, “you want some lotion on that?”

“I want a bath, actually.” Minseok slid his bowtie, already untied and hanging loose, from under his collar and flicked it at Luhan.

“Ooh, that's a better idea.”

Luhan followed Minseok as he hopped through into the bathroom. Minseok sat on the edge of the tub while they waited for it to fill, slowly unbuttoning his shirt and watching Luhan undress.

“Should I be properly stripping for you or something?”

Minseok laughed and shook his head. “Nah, you're good.” He reached behind himself to test the water and turn off the tap, then swung his leg over and slid into the tub.

“ _Ah!_ ”

He bounced back up to hold himself just on the surface, then slowly sank in again, letting the water lap over Shorty.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Get in here.”

Luhan clambered into the bath and settled himself in front of Minseok, facing him.

“Mmm- ah, that's nice.”

“Mhm.” Minseok closed his eyes and sank further into the water, leaning back until his shoulders were covered. “This is the shit I need.”

After a moment of quiet observation, Luhan took the bottle of body wash from the gift basket beside the tub and poured himself a generous handful. He reached down with his other hand and encouraged Shorty up out of the water, mindful of Minseok’s little jump of surprise, so he could begin gently washing all the sweat and stickiness from around the blisters. Minseok stared at him, watched Luhan’s hands move in careful swipes over his skin, neither of them speaking until Luhan gently lowered Shorty back into the water to rinse the suds off.

“Thank you,” Minseok murmured.

Luhan just smiled at him and picked up the bottle again. Minseok took it from him and beckoned with one hand.

“C’mere.” 

Luhan shuffled around until he was facing away from Minseok, then closed his eyes as Minseok began washing his back, massaging his shoulders and working down the column of his spine with strong thumbs. Luhan let his head fall forward with a sigh; Minseok’s hands pressed into every muscle and pulled the aches from them one by one.

Minseok rinsed the soap from Luhan’s skin, then pulled him back to lean against him, his back pressed to Minseok’s chest, hips slotted between his thighs. Minseok’s hand played through the water at their side, moving it in gentle waves around them. Luhan closed his eyes, relaxed into Minseok’s arms, and let himself sink into the feeling of being loved. 

After a moment Minseok snuggled into his neck, and his other hand began walking tiny circles around Luhan’s hip. His lips were brushing ever so minutely against Luhan’s skin, but with the world so still around them Luhan was acutely aware of every movement.

“You really do like that spot, huh?”

Minseok nodded, his nose bumping against Luhan’s jaw. “Feels like home here.”

“Mm.” Luhan tilted his head slightly, and the soft brush of Minseok’s lips turned into gentle kisses, lingering against his pulse with a shivering warmth that flittered down Luhan’s spine to join Minseok’s fingers walking their careful path across his stomach.

“My darling,” Minseok murmured.

In the heat of the water, of Minseok’s touch, of the reverent press of lips to his throat, Luhan couldn’t quite find his way to his voice. Minseok’s fingers began walking lower, inward, along the crease of Luhan’s thigh, and Luhan could summon no more than a vocal breath to encompass the spark thrumming to life between his ribs.

“So beautiful,” Minseok whispered, his words almost lost into Luhan’s skin, and then his fingers were tiptoeing through the edge of the dark curls at the top of Luhan’s thigh.

“ _Mm-_ ”

“So precious to me,” Minseok continued, his lips tracing up the side of Luhan’s neck to mouth just behind his earlobe.

Luhan shivered, his mouth open but no words making it past the electric current Minseok was kissing into his jaw.

“All mine, forever.” Minseok’s thumb ran along the base of Luhan’s cock, the tip of his tongue leading a kiss to the shell of Luhan’s ear.

“ _Hah_ -”

Minseok’s hand stilled. “Do you want to get out?”

“Hm?” Luhan blinked his eyes open.

“So I can take you to bed?”

“Oh.” Luhan let Minseok’s voice burn down his spine and shiver back up into his skull. “ _Mhm_.”

They climbed out of the bath, and Luhan grabbed a fluffy towel from the counter to wrap around Minseok’s shoulders. Minseok grinned up at him, shuffling back and forth to keep his balance as they dried themselves off.

“You look really good in gold,” Luhan observed, watching the way Minseok’s jewellery glittered in the light.

Minseok laughed. “I feel so fancy. I’ve never worn this many diamonds before.”

“You should wear them all the time.”

“Hmm.” Minseok pretended to consider it. “I’ll wear them when I want you to react like this.”

“Like what?”

Minseok dropped his towel and took the two hops necessary to bring him chest-to-chest with Luhan.

“Like this.” He ran his hands over Luhan’s hips, one of them sliding down to grab his ass and the other coming up between his shoulderblades to pull him into a kiss.

“ _M-_ ” Luhan let his own towel fall to the floor and wrapped his arms around Minseok. He sucked Minseok’s bottom lip into his mouth, traced his tongue over the diamond stud, and relished the shiver he felt through Minseok’s body.

With a step and a bounce, he scooped Minseok up into his arms to carry him back into the bedroom. Minseok squeaked as Luhan dropped him on the bed, then giggled as he crawled up over him, hands and knees either side of Minseok’s body.

“Whatcha gonna do?” Minseok cooed, his hands tracing down Luhan’s stomach as Luhan ducked his head to suck kisses into the whirl of ink across his collarbone.

“I’m gonna let you take a wild guess at that one,” Luhan murmured.

“Hmm.” Minseok turned his hands over to scratch his nails back up Luhan’s chest. “Is it time to consummate this shit?”

Luhan stopped, then pushed himself up to sit back on his heels.

“That is possibly the _least_ sexy word you could have chosen.”

“But babe!” Minseok held out his hands. “This is my only chance to say it! You only get to consummate your marriage once!”

“Stop saying ‘consummate,’ you fucking weirdo.”

“ _Consumm-_ ” Minseok giggled into the sudden presence of Luhan’s lips.

“You’re so fucking strange,” Luhan muttered into Minseok’s mouth.

“That’s why you love me.”

“Among other reasons.”

Luhan rolled over and sat up to drag Minseok into his lap. He could no longer control the shaking of his hands as they mapped the skin of Minseok’s chest, nor the thrill through his body, the urge to be closer to Minseok, to be all over him, to be inside him-

“C’mere, baby,” Minseok murmured. He took Luhan’s hand from his chest and guided it down between his thighs, and Luhan palmed gratefully over him, cupping him in the palm of his hand and stroking delicately over his skin. Minseok’s breath shook against Luhan’s cheek and he rolled his hips into Luhan’s touch.

“Fuck, Minseok-” Luhan buried his face in Minseok’s shoulder.

“Come on, Lu.” Minseok caressed the back of Luhan’s head, lips at his temple, breath shivering across his ear. “I want you.”

“Yeah.” Luhan let his fingers trail back behind Minseok’s balls. “Oh, shit, I need you so bad.”

He leaned forward, lowered Minseok onto his back on the bed and kissed him deeply as his fingers circled around sensitive skin.

“Where did you put the lube?”

“They might have given us some - check that thing.” Minseok raised his head and pointed towards the basket on the bedside table, similar to the one in the bathroom but bigger. “If not, it’s in the inside pocket of my blue bag.”

Luhan rolled over to the edge of the bed and rummaged through the basket. Sure enough, among the champagne, chocolate and coffee, the hotel had included a tiny bottle of lube and a few condoms.

“Wow, they really thought of everything.”

“This place came highly recommended,” Minseok said, watching Luhan extract the lube and a condom from the basket and shuffle back over to him. “For good reason, it seems.”

“Mhm.” Luhan uncapped the lube and settled in front of Minseok. Minseok closed his eyes, a tiny crease dimpling in between his eyebrows as Luhan pushed the first finger inside him.

“ _Mm-_ ”

Luhan watched the twitch of Minseok’s lips as he worked him open with one finger and then two, the little pucker in his forehead when he hit a particularly nice spot.

“Good?”

Minseok nodded, eyes still closed. “Talk to me. I want to hear you.”

Luhan pressed a third finger into him and took a moment to observe the way Minseok gasped and arched his back.

“You’re so beautiful, baby. Look at you, look at the way you’re shaking, you’re so desperate for me.”

Minseok groaned, his head rolling back as Luhan crooked his fingers inside him.

“I’m desperate for you too,” Luhan continued. “I’m always desperate for you, you do things to me that I can’t explain, my heart can’t take being apart from you- fuck, Minseok, I need to be inside you, I need to feel you-”

“Fuck me,” Minseok gasped. “Luhan, fuck me now, I need you.”

“ _Oh my god._ ” Luhan pulled his fingers out and smoothed his hands over Minseok’s hips, grabbing handfuls of him to drag him closer. “Baby, yes.”

Minseok sat up, and Luhan handed him the condom with his slippery fingers. Minseok looked at the packet for a moment, then at Luhan, then back at the condom. Then, very carefully, he put it down.

“What?”

“I-” Minseok shook his head. “I don’t want one.”

Luhan gaped at him.

“I know- I know we should use one - _obviously_ \- but.” Minseok took a deep breath. “Just tonight. I want everything you have to give me. I want just you and me, and nothing else.”

Luhan stared, because Minseok, _Minseok_ of all people- Luhan didn’t have the words to explain how momentous it was for Minseok, with his compulsive safety and checking of expiration dates and regular check-ups and tests - and obviously Luhan knew why, and that just made it even more unreal that now Minseok was pushing the condom away and biting his lip, looking up at Luhan for permission-

“Don’t tell the folks at Wrap It Up,” Luhan said.

Minseok blinked, then grinned.

“Our secret.”

Luhan held out his hands, and Minseok placed his own in them, and Luhan pulled him forward so that Minseok was sitting fully on his lap. He wrapped an arm around Minseok’s waist to hold him steady as he rose up onto his knee.

“You’re sure?” Luhan searched Minseok’s eyes for any flicker of doubt.

“Yeah. I… feel safe.”

And that put Luhan’s heart at ease. He stretched up to kiss Minseok at the same time that he lined himself up underneath him, and then Minseok was lowering himself down, and Luhan was slipping inside.

“ _Oh-_ ”

Minseok gasped against Luhan’s lips.

“Ah, yeah-”

Luhan wondered if Minseok’s heart was beating as hard as his own, if this felt different to him, if it was really the fact of their bare skin or just that everything felt special today. Minseok’s hands were braced against his shoulders, clutching tightly, his lips moving soundlessly against Luhan’s.

“Baby,” Luhan whispered. “Fuck-”

Minseok opened his eyes, almost crossed them to look at Luhan, then let them flutter closed again as he swayed that last inch forward to kiss him.

Luhan rocked his hips up and Minseok moaned, the sound lost in Luhan’s mouth. He slid his arms around Luhan’s neck, held him closer, rolled up onto his knee and dropped back down to drive Luhan deeper.

“Min,” Luhan’s hand dropped to his hip, began encouraging him back and forth. “Oh fuck, you’re so good- you’re so hot, Minnie, god-”

“So good,” Minseok echoed, “so good, Lu, fuck me like that-” he broke off and pressed his face into Luhan’s neck.

“You’re shaking,” Luhan whispered.

For a moment it seemed Minseok could manage no more than a stuttered gasp as Luhan rolled him into exactly the right spot.

“Right there, baby-”

“Right there,” Minseok gritted out. “Oh god, Lu- I love you, oh my god-”

“Yeah,” Luhan said. “I love you too, I love you so much-” he slid a hand in between them to brush over Minseok’s pierced nipple.

“ _Ohhh-_ ”

Minseok was rocking in his lap, shuddering with every twist of the bar through his nipple, his nails scratching into Luhan’s back as each thrust brought him incrementally closer to losing it completely. This, only this, for the rest of his life, Luhan thought. This beautiful man, taking him apart and holding all the pieces in his hands, putting them back together with himself in the mix. The two of them, joined for life.

The rest of eternity with Minseok as his husband.

“I love you,” he whispered again, this time with his lips pressed to Minseok’s temple, one hand on his nipple, the other on his cock, pulling and rocking and twisting and stroking until Minseok shuddered against him, his voice cracking out of his throat.

“I l- I love you- Luhan, _please-_ ”

Minseok was almost crying, Luhan realised, each breath a sob, and when Luhan ducked his head to kiss the side of his neck, that seemed to be as much as he could take.

Luhan groaned as Minseok shook in his arms, fluttering in spasms around him and spurting across his stomach. He kept rocking, thrusting up into Minseok to try and meet him there, and before Minseok had stopped trembling Luhan was crying out, curling forward and gasping into Minseok’s shoulder in a whirl of blinding heat.

For a long time, neither of them moved. Luhan let his hands fall to his sides, then lifted them with an effort to wrap them around Minseok’s waist. Minseok rested his head on Luhan’s shoulder, his breath warm and shaky against Luhan’s neck.

“I don’t think I can move,” Minseok admitted after a while, a tiny whisper against Luhan’s skin.

“That’s okay.” Luhan let one hand trail down from Minseok’s waist, over his hip, down his thigh to cup the end of Shorty and stroke a thumb over the flowers growing from the scars. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

He felt Minseok smile against his skin.

“All my life and more,” Minseok said. He lifted his head to look at Luhan, a glitter of eyes and diamonds, his hair a sweaty tangle, cheeks flushed.

“All my life and more,” Luhan agreed. He tucked a lock of hair behind Minseok’s ear and pulled him close, kissed him, smiled, kissed him again. Minseok smiled back at him, and when Luhan let his hand fall away from his face he snuggled down to pillow his head on Luhan’s chest. Luhan rested his chin on Minseok’s black and gold hair and closed his eyes. 

This, forever. This was enough.

_FIN_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with these boys until the end. I hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I enjoyed writing about them.
> 
> There is more of this story that needs to be told. Up next, the prequel. After that, the spin-off sequel.
> 
> I could not have written this without the help of some incredible beta readers. Moe and Rey, you have my eternal gratitude.


End file.
